8-22/23-2008
MAHONEY, KMBC GUESS WRONG ON VP PICK  
    Veteran political reporter Micheal Mahoney, who has been with KMBC-TV9 for 28 years, guessed wrong after he and the station breathlessly announced Friday night that a Kansas City printing firm was printing Obama/Bayh bumper stickers. 
  Obviously, it meant that Barack Obama was picking Evan Bayh as his vice presidential running mate. Why else would his campaign print up stickers?  Obviously...
  The story immediately went national, but almost as quickly began to unravel. Early Saturday morning the Obama camp announced Joe Biden as VP.
   As a media site that has reported on "scoops" incorrectly (ask the Star's Mike Hendricks), we can sympathize with Mahoney. It seemed at one point he had landed the scoop of the political season.
   The printer had, in fact, printed Obama/Bayh stickers. One would generally not expect a Democratic candidate to be so wasteful of natural resources and simply print bogus stickers. There is also a significant cost factor.
  The president of Gill Studios would not confirm--or deny--the story. That is also a red flag to journalists.
  As media critics like to point out: "The scoop so good there was no need to really verify it."  
  The station almost immediately began backtracking on its original story. Aaron Barnhart of tvbarn.com has posted an interesting and somewhat critical article about how the station got it wrong:  Sticker shock! "Obama-Bayh 08" lulu oversold by KMBC's Mahoney; backpedaling ensues; he meant to say "Bayh...DEN"
08-22/23-2008

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Obama Passes On Bayh, Despite Sticker
Lenexa Company Printed Sticker With Running Mates' Names 
From KMBC-TV9 Site, 8/22
     A bumper sticker printed in Lenexa did not turn out to be a key clue in the effort to discover who Barack Obama would name as his running mate.
    KMBC's Micheal Mahoney reported that the company, which specializes in political literature, had been printing Obama-Bayh material. That's Bayh as in U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana.
    Word leaked out about the material as it was being printed up by Gill Studios of Lenexa. The Obama campaign said it would make the announcement by text message on Saturday.
   On Friday night, The Associated Press reported that Bayh was not the candidate.
   Gill Studios, which invented the bumper sticker, would not confirm information about the material. They would not deny it either.
   "We're very disappointed that you would spread this rumor," Gill Studios President Tom Carrico said.
    "You didn't print it here?" Mahoney asked. "I didn't say that. But I'm very disappointed that you would come out and interview us and ask for confirmation and we said we would not confirm," Carrico said.
    "Or deny," Mahoney said. "That's correct," Carrico said.
    Mahoney reported that at least three sources close to the plant's operations reported the Obama-Bayh material was being produced.
    Some campaign insiders have said that several versions of campaign materials may have been created because of the late announcement and to preserve the secret.   
    Obama has arranged a joint appearance for Saturday with his running mate at the state Capitol in Springfield, Ill.
    LINK: http://www.kmbc.com/politics/17267009/detail.html