"Senator Smith," says the man holding a microphone in front of a news camera, "there are accusations that you beat your wife. What do you say about those accusations, Senator?"

Senator Smith, who has never beaten his wife, goes ballistic.

"What are you talking about?" he stutters. "I don't beat my wife! Who says I beat my wife? I have never in my whole life ever done anything like that!"

That night, the local newscast begins.

"Senator Smith denies beating his wife. Film at 11."

So, naturally, a lot of people watching just assume that Senator Smith is a wife-beater, and even if he might not be, why take the chance and vote for him when it could turn out that he did beat his wife?

It's the classic (for want of a better word) journalistic hatchet job, and while you don't actually see the wife-beater motif much these days, there are plenty of other ways to smear a person without letting facts get in the way.

What happened just last week to Sen. John Kerry illustrates how the Internet, partisan commentators and tabloid newspapers have soiled what used to be a pretty ethical news-gathering process.

It began with a guy named Matt Drudge. Drudge runs a wildly popular right-wing website. Heck, I look at it every day. Drudge does a good job of linking his site to interesting worldwide publications, columnists and unusual stories.

That said, when it comes to journalism, Matt Drudge is the absolute bottom-feeder. He routinely "reports" nasty things on his site under glaring headlines without waiting to see if they are true.

He got lucky in 1998 when he revealed that Newsweek was investigating the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal. He was correct then, but he's been wrong many, many times.

Reputable publications look into rumors all the time. If they aren't true, then they aren't printed, and nobody gets hurt. But Drudge reporting an investigation instantly makes it public knowledge.

This "World Exclusive" was a huge Drudge Report headline on Feb. 12:

CAMPAIGN DRAMA ROCKS DEMOCRATS: KERRY FIGHTS OFF MEDIA PROBE OF RECENT ALLEGED INFIDELITY, RIVALS

PREDICT RUIN ...

A frantic behind-the-scenes drama is unfolding around Sen. John Kerry and his quest to lockup [sic] the Democratic nomination for president, the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal.

Intrigue surrounds a woman who recently fled the country, reportedly at the prodding of Kerry, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

He went on in a similar vein for several paragraphs. It didn't matter that Kerry is apparently innocent. The rumor was out there for Drudge's 15 million readers to see.

From there, it didn't take long for it to be all over conservative talk radio, including intrigues by popular hosts Rush Limbaugh ("This is sort of like the Lewinsky situation ... ." he said. "If Kerry denies this, that's not going to be good enough.") and Sean Hannity.

To their great credit, most of the mainstream press and television news organizations did not report the rumor. Still, Kerry found himself having to answer a question about it the next day on Don Imus' radio program, which is simulcast on MSNBC.

"Well, there is nothing to report," Kerry said. "So there is nothing to talk about. I'm not worried about it. No. The answer is no." Later that day, asked by reporters, he said, "I just deny it categorically. It's rumor. It's untrue. And that's the last time I intend to" talk about it.

The denial was huge front-page news the next day for the sleazy New York Post and New York Daily News, which both ran the same photo of a worried-looking Kerry.

The Post's headline:

Kerry on intern rumor

IT'S NOT TRUE

Dem favorite slams affair allegations

The Daily News:

"Stray? It Ain't So: Kerry"

Of course, it was just like writing, "Candidate denies beating his wife."

A Daily News executive once told me, "We want to print rumors first, even if they aren't true. We never want the Post to beat us on any rumors."

Fortunately, those tabloids are the journalistic exception rather than the rule.

Kerry won the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday, but the vote was closer than expected. I've got to believe those rumors of infidelity had something to do with that.

The right wing, of course, has no patent on low-life rumormongers. Pornographer Larry Flynt and rock 'n' roller Moby are trying to get traction on an unsubstantiated nasty rumor about President Bush.

With no facts to back it up, you won't see that item in this newspaper.

If anyone with a computer and a paucity of morality can infect society with supposed "news" without an editor making certain that everything is accurate, the republic is in serious trouble.

For all our problems, mainstream newspapers try mightily to be accurate and fair. The Drudges, the Flynts, the tabloids and the radio talk show hosts with an agenda don't. It's as simple as that.

What worries me is whether most people know the difference.

Sam Pollak is editor of The Daily Star. He can be reached at spollak@thedailystar.com or at (607) 432-1000, ext. 208.