Now we hear from the Post.
Woman Denies Relationship With Kerry
Internet Report Makes Its Way Into Mainstream Media
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 16, 2004; 4:49 PM
A 27-year-old woman who became the subject of Internet rumors about a supposed relationship with Sen. John F. Kerry said today those reports are "completely false."
Alexandra Polier, an Associated Press reporter from October 2002 through last March, was responding to an unsubstantiated report by Internet gossip columnist Matt Drudge that gradually made its way into the mainstream media.
"For the last several days, I have seen Internet and tabloid rumors relating to me and Senator John Kerry," Polier said in a statement to the AP issued from Kenya, where she is visiting her fiance's family. "Because these stories were false, I assumed the media would ignore them.
"It seems that efforts to peddle these lies continue, so I feel compelled to address them. I have never had a relationship with Senator Kerry, and the rumors in the press are completely false. Whoever is spreading these rumors and allegations does not know me, but should know the pain they have caused me and my family."
The rumor surfaced last Thursday when Drudge reported that several news organizations were looking into the matter. The posting, seen by 15 million Web site visitors, drew particular attention because Drudge reported in 1998 that Newsweek had spiked a story on an investigation of President Bill Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
Drudge's report was promptly picked up by conservative radio hosts Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh and by the Web sites of National Review and the Wall Street Journal, and was analyzed online by Slate, Salon and commentator Andrew Sullivan, among others. Although it was probably the most talked-about story in Washington that day, most of the mainstream press, including The Washington Post, declined to report it because of the lack of evidence.
On Friday, Don Imus, whose radio program is simulcast on MSNBC, asked Kerry about the rumor. "Well, there is nothing to report," the Massachusetts senator said. "So there is nothing to talk about. I'm not worried about it. No. The answer is no." Kerry told reporters that day: "I just deny it categorically. It's rumor. It's untrue."
Kerry's denial catapulted the story onto the front pages of the New York Post and New York Daily News. ABC anchor Peter Jennings reported Kerry's denial that day, as did CNN. The New York Times mentioned the senator's denial in a campaign story Saturday.
Several British newspapers, meanwhile, named Polier and ran her photo. The story was prominently featured by the Times of London ("Dirty tricks row hits race for President") and the Sun ("New JFK Hit by Scandal"), which, like the New York Post, are owned by conservative media baron Rupert Murdoch.
In a separate statement today, Polier's parents, Terry and Donna, also dismissed the rumor, saying: "We appreciate the way Senator Kerry has handled the situation, and intend on voting for him for president of the United States." Alexandra Polier asked "that the press respect our privacy and leave all of us alone." |
