Bob Somersby is a comedian and political commentator with an uncanny gift for pointing out when reporters (a) contradict themselves or simple logic and/or (b) report as fact, things they couldn't possibly know to be so. Back when the whole world was pillorying Al Gore for supposedly claiming he'd inspired the book, Love Story, Somersby posted a pretty airtight case on his website that Gore hadn't made such a claim and even if he had, it was basically true. (Somersby was in a unique position to make the case, as he was Gore's roommate in college, back when the two of them were hanging out with Erich Segal, author of Love Story.) That Somersby's rebuttal did little to dissuade Gore's opponents was not surprising but I sure lost a lot of respect for certain reporters who kept it alive after that.
I lose a little more belief in America's journalists every time I visit Somersby's terrific site, The Daily Howler, where he is currently surgically deconstructing news coverage of the Gary Condit/Chandra Levy soap opera. I highly recommend his last half-dozen dispatches on the topic, most of which involve reporters and pundits leaping to unsubstantiated conclusions. (One interesting thing he points out is that, though Dan Rather has been both praised and condemned for avoiding the Condit story, those who call him a "lone holdout" are wrong. PBS's Jim Lehrer — perhaps the most widely-respected newsman currently anchoring on TV — has also steered clear of it.)
And just so we're clear: I have no idea what Congressman Condit may or may not have done wrong. He may have chopped up Ms. Levy with one of Ron Popeil's kitchen gizmos and fed her remains to piranha for all I know. But what is verifiable at this point does not justify the media's seeming decision that he must be guilty of something, so no aspect of his and Ms. Levy's lives, together and apart, cannot be dredged up, enhanced or even fabricated. If you have no sympathy for Mr. Condit being in this position — and I'm not sure he, personally, is deserving of any — you might at least weep a bit at what it says about the level of journalism we have today.