David Martosko

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David Martosko
Born
David Matthew Martosko

(1970-05-25) May 25, 1970 (age 51)
Parma, Ohio, U.S.
EducationDartmouth College (BA)
Johns Hopkins University (MM)

David Martosko is an executive at Zenger News, which describes itself as "the world’s first digitally native wire service." He was previously the U.S. political editor at DailyMail.com, the US version of MailOnline, the website of the British tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail. He was executive editor at The Daily Caller from 2011 to 2013. Under his tenure at the Daily Caller, he published false stories about U.S. Senator Bob Menendez using prostitutes and defended false stories about the Environmental Protection Agency. From 2001 to 2011, he worked at the Center for Consumer Freedom, a nonprofit entity founded by Richard Berman which advocates for industry interests on consumer rights issues, and at the public relations firm of Berman and Company.[1]

Early life[]

Martosko was born in Parma, Ohio and attended St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland. He studied at Dartmouth College, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1991.[2] He later earned a master's degree in orchestral conducting from the Johns Hopkins University's conservatory of music, the Peabody Institute.

Martosko told AdWeek in 2013 that his first journalism job was "summer photo editor and an occasional arts critic" at '’The Dartmouth’’, a college newspaper.[3]

Career[]

Public relations[]

Martosko was a senior strategist in the Center for Consumer Freedom, which advocates for industry interests on consumer rights issues, at the PR firm Berman and Company from 2001 to August 2011.[4] Martosko testified about the Animal Liberation Front and acknowledged in March 2013 that his work researching the animal rights movement included posing as an activist on Facebook to gather intelligence.[5]

Daily Caller[]

Martosko was hired as executive editor at The Daily Caller in 2011.[6]

False EPA story[]

In 2011, under his tenure, the Caller published a false story claiming that the EPA was going to spend $21 billion per year to hire 230,000 staff to regulate greenhouse gas emissions; at the time, the EPA had 17,000 staff and a total budget of $8.7 billion.[7][8][9][10] The story went viral in right-wing media,[7] and Republican politicians repeated the story.[9] Other news outlets noted that the story was false, but Martosko stood by the story.[7] Adweek reported that the decision of Martosko to stand by the story caused dismay among some Caller staff, who believed the decision undermined the credibility of the news outlet.[11]

False story about Bob Menendez[]

In 2013, The Daily Caller published stories, many of which were authored by Martosko,[12][13] about two women claiming that New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez had paid them for sex while he was a guest of a campaign donor. News organizations such as ABC News, which had also interviewed the women, The New York Times, and the New York Post declined to publish the allegations, viewing them as unsubstantiated and lacking credibility.[14][15][16] Subsequently, one of the women who accused Menendez stated that she had been paid to falsely implicate the senator and had never met him.[14][17] Menendez's office described the allegations as "manufactured" by a right-wing blog as a politically motivated smear.[18] Dominican law enforcement alleged that the women had been paid to lie about Menendez by an individual claiming to work for The Daily Caller. The Daily Caller denied this allegation, stating: "At no point did any money change hands between The Daily Caller and any sources or individuals connected with this investigation".[19] Martosko refused to explain how The Daily Caller got the story in the first place.[20][21] Describing what it saw as the unraveling of The Daily Caller' "scoop", the Poynter Institute wrote: "The Daily Caller stands by its reports, though apparently doesn't feel the need to prove its allegations right".[22]

Daily Mail[]

Martosko joined DailyMail.com in 2013.[12] Martosko is DailyMail.com's chief U.S. political correspondent and a member of the White House press corps. He and covered the 2016 presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. On June 15, 2015, Martosko was the designated print "pool" reporter tasked with following Hillary Clinton around New Hampshire for the day, filing reports for the benefit of other news outlets. Clinton's team refused to let him board the press van.[23] Campaign press secretary Nick Merrill responded that Clinton's team would "do our best to find equilibrium and best accommodate interest from as many news outlets as possible, given the space limitations of our events."[24]

According to Politico, "During the 2016 campaign, [Martosko] was perhaps the most prolific reporter" who covered Trump.[1] He interviewed the future president repeatedly during the campaign.

Consideration to serve as White House Press Secretary[]

On December 13, 2016, Martosko attended meetings at Trump Tower[25] in New York City, leading to speculation that he might become then-President-Elect Donald Trump's White House Press Secretary. Martosko later confirmed that he had been under consideration, saying he was "honored to be asked for a meeting."[1] Trump spoke with Martosko about the position again in June 2017. CNN reported that the topic arose during a meeting in the Oval Office where Martosko asked the president to participate in a book project.[26] Martosko withdrew from consideration within days, saying in a public statement that "I have chosen not to take the discussions further".[27]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Burnley, Malcolm (February 16, 2017). "The Mystery of David Martosko". Politico.
  2. ^ "David Martosko '91 | Department of Music". music.dartmouth.edu. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  3. ^ Rothstein, Betsy (August 1, 2013). "The FishbowlDC Interview With Daily Mail's David Martosko". AdWeek. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  4. ^ "Daily Caller won't back down from false EPA "scoop"". Salon. September 29, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  5. ^ "Controversial Daily Caller Editor Admitted to Posing As Radical Animal Rights Activist". Mother Jones. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  6. ^ "Two Daily Caller Reporters Fired, Managing Editor Quits, Employees Nervous". www.adweek.com. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c Berman, Dan. "EPA $21B rumors 'comically wrong'". POLITICO. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  8. ^ "The Daily Caller reveals the larger truths". The Washington Post. 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Allen West says EPA wants to hire 230,000 workers at a cost of $21 billion". @politifact. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  10. ^ Graves, Lucia (September 28, 2011). "EPA Pushes Back Against Report Alleging Agency Cut Corners On Climate Finding". HuffPost. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  11. ^ "Two Daily Caller Reporters Fired, Managing Editor Quits, Employees Nervous". www.adweek.com. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Staff, Star-Ledger (March 19, 2013). "Prostitution scandal surrounding Sen. Menendez was a lie, officials say". nj.com. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  13. ^ "Daily Mail Author Stands By Saudi Claim". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  14. ^ a b Schwartz, Rhonda (March 5, 2013). "Woman Says She Was Paid to Lie About Claim of Sex with Senator Menendez". ABC News. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  15. ^ Lipton, Eric (February 16, 2013). "Inquiry on Democratic Senator Started with a Partisan Push". The New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  16. ^ Bump, Philip (March 8, 2013). "Daily Caller's Prostitution 'Scoop' Was So Thin Even the 'New York Post' Passed". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  17. ^ Leonnig, Carol D.; Londoño, Ernesto (March 4, 2013). "Escort says Menendez prostitution claims were made up". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  18. ^ Weiner, Rachel (January 30, 2013). "Menendez: Prostitution allegations 'manufactured' by 'right-wing blog'". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  19. ^ Leonnig, Carol D.; Lazo, Luz (March 22, 2013). "Dominican official links Daily Caller to alleged lies about Menendez". The Washington Post.
  20. ^ staff, Seattle Times (February 16, 2013). "Partisan players helped fuel Menendez media frenzy". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  21. ^ Lipton, Eric (February 16, 2013). "Partisan Push Led to Troubling Revelations About Senator Menendez". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  22. ^ Sonderman, Jeff (March 6, 2013). "The Daily Caller's Menendez prostitution 'scoop' unravels". Poynter Institute. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  23. ^ "Why the Clinton campaign blocked a Daily Mail reporter from getting on its van". Vox. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  24. ^ "Clinton campaign denies access to pool reporter". POLITICO. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  25. ^ "Daily Mail U.S. political editor interviewed for Trump position". POLITICO. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  26. ^ Byers, Dylan. "White House-media relations at breaking point as Spicer searches for replacement". CNNMoney. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  27. ^ Greenwood, Max (June 20, 2017). "Daily Mail editor pulls out of talks for White House job". TheHill. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
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