OLD MEDIA LOSING INFLUENCE? I notice that Evan Thomas has revised his 15 percent estimate downward:

KURTZ: You’ve said on the program “Inside Washington” that because of the portrayal of Kerry and Edwards as young and dynamic and optimistic, that’s worth maybe 15 points. That would suggest…

THOMAS: Stupid thing to say. It was completely wrong. But I do think that — I do think that the mainstream press, I’m not talking about the blogs and Rush and all that, but the mainstream press favors Kerry. I don’t think it’s worth 15 points. That was just a stupid thing to say.

KURTZ: Is it worth 5 points?

THOMAS: Maybe, maybe.

I should note that when Newsweek’s Steven Levy interviewed me a few weeks back he seemed quite unhappy with my frequent reference to Evan Thomas’s earlier 15 points statement, and rather vehemently stated that Thomas didn’t speak for Newsweek as a whole. I don’t know how he’d feel about the 5 point line. . . .