I See Your Markos Moulitsas, And I Raise You a...KARL ROVE?

Sometimes, news releases really don't need any comment:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, November 15, 2007

KARL ROVE TO BECOME NEWSWEEK CONTRIBUTOR

New York--Karl Rove, the former White House deputy chief of staff, will become a Newsweek contributor, offering occasional opinion pieces to the pages of the magazine and to Newsweek.com.

"Newsweek has a long tradition of asking practitioners and opinion-makers to offer our readers the benefits of their experience in occasional opinion essays," said Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham. "Whether one agrees or disagrees with Karl, there is no arguing that he has been a critical player in the political world with insights and experiences that we think will give our readers something unique. A great recent example is George Stephanopoulos, who did terrific work for us after he left the Clinton White House in the second term."

# # #

Meacham is getting very good at writing pre-emptively defensive press release copy. Though we think Bill O'Reilly will be okay with this one.

Related:
Newsweek Taps Kos As '08 Kontributor [ETP]

Update from Howie Kurtz:
Karl Rove's New Gig [WaPo]

(NB: For better or for worse, this is the image I now associate with Karl Rove, thanks to one of the most inexplicably popular posts I ever did at FishbowlNY. Come on, people, I had to spice up Plamegate somehow. Yes, if only Valerie Plame Wilson had looked good in photos.)

Related:
Rove dances the dance of a thousand hippos, or something [FishbowlNY]

Comments

[TRichards]

Predictably, Newsweek will try to justify this as part of an effort to be "fair and balanced" -- which is manifest nonsense. Giving space to a master of propaganda and dirty tricks isn't going to add balance but distortion. When the "columnist" considers integrity a quaint concept for losers, there is NO justification for enabling him.

Newsweek subscribers shouldn't merely cancel. They should accompany their cancellations with a letter letting the magazine know why their canceling.

My sympathies to Jonathan Alter, Michael Isikoff, Howard Finneman and other journalists remaining at Newsweek. This is a slap in their faces from the suits who are to newsmen as maggots are to fine dining.

[zitlight73]

It figures. Instead of going to prison for stealing two presidential elections by having his underlings toss out minority votes, Turd Blossem gets a cushy job at Newsweek. A magazine that in recent years has become nothing more the a fascist People magazine for folks who agree with the O'Reillys and the Becks of the world they just don"t like the bellicose way they say it. How the hell can anyone with a straight face say the mainstream media has a liberal bias? Benito Mussolini said that, "the first stages of fascism should more appropriately be called corperatism because it is the merger of state and corperate owers." Sound like any place you know?

[hippieforlife]

A masterful stroke!

Rove, you magnificent bastard!

HAHAHAHAHA­HAHAHA!!!!­!

[markusmarkus]

That's why I read The Economist (with a grain of salt).
Peace!
Mark

[xargaw]

Sadly, we live in an era where there is no longer shame, only celebrity. A known liar and smear artist is considered suitable for a national news magazine. Well, Newsweek, you have just conceded any remaining credibility that you may have enjoyed. American journalism is on life support, with only McClatchy, the Web and Bill Moyers left.

[BetterDeadthanRedState]

Oh, damn, I've already cancelled my subscription.

[Grannysue]

One of the biggest piles of crap on earth and he's going to write for Newsweek, were already living through what him and his sidekick have done to the United States, we don't need to hear or see anymore of tubby turdblossom. I will not renew my subscription to Newsweek if this is truely the case.

[boomer1949]

Canceling my subscription.

[Roafer]

This only proves that Newsweek is nothing more than the birdcage liner it has always been.

How funny that this is considered balanced.

Markos, served in the military, never been in a criminal administration, an honorable citizen.

Rove, a fat soul-less piece of shit, should be in jail for outing a CIA agent, is nothing more than a hateful political hack.

Newsweek=corporate media rag that a dog wouldn't wipe their ass with.

[longislandlol]

God help us!

[naschkatze]

Anyone who has access to the blogs doesn't need the dated and censored material of Time and Newsweek. I think both of them are total shit and Rove becoming a contributor is the icing on the shit. I'm disappointed that Kos is doing this too. He is so concerned that the blogs be considered part of the MSM whereas their value is in being outsiders. I hope he does not become the next Joe Klein.

[tkk]

Great, we can all benefit from Porky Pig's great political wisdom (or corruption, whatever).

[anangryamerican]

I will be cancelling my 30 yr sub to Newsweek..­.Meacham has just proven what i always suspected.­..another right wing religious nutjob! Why not hire Rush, same thing! They already have George Will! How pathetic, Rove as a "journalist"

[dantanna]

i will join all the others who will cancel/unsubscribe from newsweek - i dont want to read magazines that dont have at least minumum standards for their writters and contributors. i'm so dissaponted

[dnegri]

Let's all just take a deep breath. Remember that charade called Crossfire? No one who knows anything about Rove, and who isn't a koolaid drinker, will be much effected by anything he writes. Just as I don't think Markos will change the minds of many koolaid drinkers. No way will Rove-speak influence any real Independents to suddenly become supporters of the GOP unless they were already leaning that way. In short, let's just all calm down. The key to Newsweek is not in the op/ed columns, it's in the actual reporting they do. They're still better than Time in that respect (and yes, I do know there's lots of good progressive publications too).