Jake Tapper!!!!! Just another syncophant, especially for the Right.

The e-mails show some outlets promised Sanford “friendly ground,” while others objected to early reports that questioned his disappearance.

“If you all want to speak on this publicly, you’re welcome to Washington Times Radio,” wrote staffer Joseph Deoudes to Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer on June 23. “You know that you will be on friendly ground here!”

Sanford returned from Argentina on June 24.

The Washington Times’ executive editor John Solomon said the employee worked in marketing and was assisting the month-old radio show with booking.

Solomon defended the paper’s coverage, saying it broke the story of an unidentified woman who claimed to have had a “brief romance” with Sanford on a 1995 trip to Chile.

“I find the use of the term (‘friendly ground’) inappropriate,” Solomon said, adding, “One could argue there was no favorable treatment. I think our coverage was fair but probing.”

Local media tried their best with Sanford as well.

“The Governor can have the floor for 10 minutes and reach over a million people on the show tomorrow!!” wrote WACH morning anchor Tim Miller on June 23. “I’ve already have calls from others who want to bash. ... I’m not doing that!”

Miller, a former chairman of the Lexington County Republican Party, said his channel’s three-hour morning show provided Sanford an open mike, of sorts, to explain himself.

“We’re not taking sides,” Miller said. “We’d ask some questions. There would be no hidden agenda.”

Another reporter, Griff Jenkins of Fox News, invited Sanford on to set the record straight.

“Having known the Governor for years and even worked with him when he would host radio shows for me,” Jenkins wrote to Sawyer on June 23, “I find the story and the media frenzy surrounding it to be absolutely ridiculous!”

Charles Bierbauer, dean of the University of South Carolina College of Mass Communications and Information Studies, said no holds are barred in trying to land the “get” — the exclusive interview of top newsmakers — short of offering money.

“One of the most competitive things in the media is nailing down the interview that no one else has,” said Bierbauer, a former CNN reporter, calling it “Olympic sport.”

But, Bierbauer said some of the e-mails crossed ethical lines.

“No, you can’t promise friendly ground,” Bierbauer said. “It’s legitimate to ask for a focused interview, but you have to ask about current events.”

The e-mails also show some reached out to the governor on how best to come to his defense.

“If he wants something more personal for the blog to push back, I’m happy to help,” wrote Erick Erickson, a writer for RedState.com. On June 23, Erickson ripped “media speculation” about Sanford’s whereabouts.

“I wasn’t trying to be a reporter. I wanted to curtail the story,” Erickson said by e-mail. “Well that didn’t work.”

After Sanford admitted an affair with an Argentine woman, Erickson struck and amended the original post, meditating that “we live in a fallen world.”

Sawyer, Sanford’s spokesman, offered only an oft-repeated statement to Erickson’s query. Sawyer said he did not coordinate coverage with any media outlets.

The State also e-mailed questions to the governor’s office, asking where Sanford was, who had spoken to him and — among other things — whether the paper could see the governor’s passport when he returned to work.

The media e-mails also illuminate the tactics of national outlets to land the big interview.

ABC News White House reporter Jake Tapper e-mailed Sawyer twice on June 23, both to note coverage of competitor NBC.

With a subject line of “NBC spot was slimy,” Tapper e-mailed Sawyer a “Today” show transcript of Sanford coverage, calling it “insulting.” Later, Tapper forwarded Sawyer a Twitter post by “Meet The Press” host David Gregory.

Jeff Schneider, a vice president at ABC News, said Tapper was “carrying some water for producers who knew he had a relationship with the governor’s office.”