Press: Where Were the Media on HUD?

Washington journalists missed the scandal when it was breaking

Big bucks. Heaps of hypocrisy. Influence peddling by prominent Republicans. The unfolding scandal at the Department of Housing and Urban Development is the kind of story that guarantees front-page play. It is also the kind of story that could guarantee brilliant future careers, perhaps even Pulitzer Prizes, for enterprising journalists. So reporters have pounced on Washington's latest example of sleaze. There is just one hitch: it's yesterday's news. All that murky bureaucratic back scratching and buck passing happened during the heyday of the Reagan Administration. Where was the ever vigilant press back then?

The short answer: sleeping. Almost 5,000 reporters prowl...

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