Howard Kurtz Covers Tom Friedman
In today's Washington Post, Howard Kurtz profiles and interviews Thomas Friedman, foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times. Friedman was prominent before the War on Terrorism began, but he has truly become required reading since September 11: CTDATA.com has pointed to his column at least three times.
We point this story out for a number of reasons, beyond the obvious recognition of Friedman's ubiquity in this war. First of all, Howard Kurtz's choice of subjects for his "Media Notes" column and his straight news stories has been astutue recently. These choices help explain why the war is covered in the manner it is. Kurtz also reveals the bredth of criticism that Tom Friedman receives, both in the Middle East and domestically.
We've criticized Friedman here on CTDATA.com, but readers should not conclude that we consider his perspective similar to a stopped clock. We see the world differently than he does at times. But, his perspective is deserving of respect and understanding even when we don't agree with him.
Finally, we point out that the war in Afghanistan must be reaching a crucial point. We say this because the media has begun interviewing themselves. Kurtz's article on Friedman is a good example. Hopefully, this is an indication that this phase in the War on Terrorism is coming to an end.