The amazing Page One Los Angeles Times article today, correcting a probably libelous Times Calendar story published on St. Patrick's Day and written by investigative reporter Chuck Philips, is known in the journalism biz as a “skinback.” I don't know exactly where the term “skinback” originated, but you could feel the skin getting peeled off Philips piece by piece in the retraction by Jim Rainey. It describes how Philips got duped by con artist James Sabatino into running a false story that implicated Sabatino himself, as well as associates of Sean “Diddy” Combs, in the non-fatal but brutal 1994 shooting of the late rapper Tupac Shakur.
Apparently, five-time loser Sabatino was so desperate to entangle himself in the lives of famous rappers that he created the fake FBI document on an old typewriter, implicating himself and talent manager James Rosemond. Chuck Philips bought it, writing that Rosemond and Sabatino "set up the rapper Tupac Shakur to get shot at Quad Studios," and then connected them to Combs' Bad Boy Records.
But the document was filled with dead-giveaways that it was a fake, which any independent documents expert could have told the Times. Credit goes to The Smoking Gun for ripping the lid off this putrid mess. There were problems with the Philips story even before The Gun went off.
It was so jammed with off-record sources it read like a piece from the Bad Old Days before corrupt journalist Jayson Blair so badly dirtied The New York Times. Today, among the nation's big dailies, the L.A. Times has one of the most useless policies for controlling its overuse of unnamed sources, which proliferate there like a plague. Take away the anonymous sources, and Philips' entire story turned on a bogus document.
Friends of mine at the Times say Chuck Philips is a good guy with high standards who would never knowingly twist his investigations for an outcome he desires – like, say, trying to taint Combs. Maybe that's true. But his and the paper's coverage of this case has attracted an inordinate amount of harsh criticism from other journos, ranging from Rolling Stone's detailed attack by Randall Sullivan to the juicy slam by Jan Golab for FrontPageMagazine.com.
An even more meticulous picking apart of Philips' obsession with this unsolved rap-world shooting is offered in a long-running series of posts on Patterico, a Los Angeles website operated by blogger and Los Angeles County assistant district attorney Patrick Frey. Among other political and media topics, Patterico specializes in pointing out untruths and bias in the Times (and with the skills of a prosecutor, he does a solid job digging up or pointing out embarrassing facts about the paper's news content – like what they leave out).
Both Patterico and our own Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood have previously noted that Philips hardly seems to be an arm's length journalist when it comes to this long-running rapper mystery. Nikki also called on the Times to take Philips off the Anthony Pellicano eavesdropping scandal - which seems prescient. (By the way, I called Philips for a comment, leaving a detailed voice mail, but he did not call me back.)
One thing seems clear. The Times badly wants to solve the Shakur shooting mystery. Maybe they should ask Patterico and Finke to do it.
Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)
Trackbacks
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://mt.laweekly.com/mt-tb.cgi/53022
Slideshows
JIm Howser Mere Inches Solo Show
At Merry Karnowsky Gallery
Tapes N Tapes, White Denim, Troubadour, 5/8
Indie rock in 6/8 time
Cute Overload at the Family Pet Expo
Kittens, puppies, ducks and all sorts of
• Advertisement •
Recent Posts
- Villaraigosa's Pico-Olympic One-Way Plan Killed
- My Huffington Post
- Searching for real resistance on May Day
- In the Jury’s Lap: Pellicano Trial Finishes
- Pellicano Trial’s Restless Defense
- Molasky Pacific Leaves Columbia Square
- RICO Suave: Closing Arguments at Pellicano Trial
- Braving 'New Worlds' at the Jumex Collection
- Mistakes Were Made
- Pellicano Trial Bombshell
Archives
Education Guide
From online learning to 4-year colleges, LA Weekly's Education Guide '08 has answers to all your education questions.
Opportunity Rocks Career Fair
Be the first to hear about the latest career opportunities. Click here to find your dream job!
Little Sexy Black Book
Bring sexy back with LA Weekly's guide to the sexiest spots in Los Angeles.
Living Quarters
Get the real story on LA real estate. Whether you're a renter, a buyer or a seller, Living Quarters is your guide to LA living.
Blank Blankly
Speak Freely at LA Weekly with your own Blank Blankly slogan. Consider Thoroughly, then Create Adverbially only at LA Weekly.
Career Guide
Jumpstart your career with the LA Weekly Career Guide. All the info you need to take the next step in life.
Digital Jukebox
Be. Hear. Now. Listen to the hottest bands and stay on the leading edge of LA's music scene with free streaming music from LA Weekly.
Hook Me Up
Want FREE stuff? Sign up for this week's contests and get the hook-up from LA Weekly.
Insiders
Get Inside with LA Weekly. LA Weekly Insiders has the what to do and where to go in LA. Sign up and we'll deliver Insiders right to your inbox!
LA to Vegas
What happens there starts here. LA to Vegas is your guide to living it up in Sin City.
Jonathan Gold Text Alerts
Get Jonathan Gold's restaurant picks sent right to your phone and never miss another great meal!
Restaurant Gallery
Hungry? Check out LA Weekly's Restaurant Gallery advertorial for the best grub in LA.
- I'M BORED5/10 at Three Clubs Cocktail Lounge
- '80S ROCK AND ROLL5/16 at Three Clubs Cocktail Lounge
- DELICIOUS HIP HOP AT DELICIOUS PARADISE5/14 at Arena Nightclub
Comments
There are 3 comments posted for this article.
I got news for you: This shooting is not that important. Who cares about a 13-year-old non-fatal shootng? People are getting shot fresh daily. Let's concentrate our news resources on those.
P.S. Additionally, can we investigate people, without diving into their sex lives? I refer to Sterling. Great story --- if you could wend your way through his sex life to get to the story. His call girl is his business, and consensual. The other sex charges against him did not hold water. In short, Sterling did not harm the public. In short, LA Weekly had nothing. But you printed the sex stuff anyway. Why? What did Sterling's sex life have to do with his creepy, unfulfilled promise to build a shelter for the homeless?
Or, have we entered a new era: When anybody's sex life (drug life too?) becomes worthy of investigative time on any story, even private figures.
I think better we go back to the pre-Gary Hart days and start reporting on the issues. The sex and drug lives of largely private and even public figures are their own business, unless the public is harmed.
I don't think anybody in the public was harmed by Sterling's sexual antics -- except me. I had to read through that unimportant drivel to get to the real story.
Posted on March 28, 2008 2:26 PM by Benjamin Cole
@Benjamin Cole:
Non-fatal?! You mean Tupac's alive? That would explain his prolific recording career since his death, but not his reluctance to go on tour.
Posted on March 28, 2008 5:10 PM by mark
Tupac (whoever he was) died later, due to other causes, according to news reports. I did not know who he was, even when he was a performer. I guess he (she?) had or has a following, but still it strikes me that there is plenty of real world news to cover, with ordinary people on the streets getting shot dead, without worrying about Tupac.
But, hey, read up on Tupac.....
Posted on March 28, 2008 7:48 PM by Benjamin Cole