CJR Daily's Lovelady declines debate on war coverage; calls debate host names instead

Mark Yost of the St. Paul Pioneer Press has critiqued media coverage of the war in Iraq. He compares the news that's reported to the news he hears from friends in the military, and he concludes essentially that it's no wonder reporters are despised.

Steve Lovelady of CJR Daily responds on Romenesko's web site that the reporters at Knight Ridder, who have "consistently exposed the lies at the heart of the Iraq invasion," have an obligation to attack Yost:

There he is, guys. Go get him. You owe your readers no less.

Jeff Jarvis sees the opportunity for an interesting discussion between Yost and Lovelady on coverage of the war, so he invites them to participate in an online debate on his web site.

Lovelady declines and calls Jarvis an "intellectually dishonest schmuck."

You can read the whole account here.