The Lady, Matt Taibbi, doth protest too much, methinks. Why would he freak out so dramatically at CBS News Chief Foreign Correspondent Lara Logan in a post titled, "Lara Logan, You Suck." Taking off his velvet gloves to sock her for talking about ethics in journalism? Why so dramatic? Why the venom?
Let's face it, Rolling Stone's recent article that ended the career of a decorated General didn't even provide us with any real NEWS. After last year's dust up, it was no secret that General McChrystal continued a long tradition of tension between brass and civilians in Government. The only surprising thing is that McChrystal's staff was not disciplined to stay away from slithering reporter Michael Hastings.
Rolling Stone is a fading fad mag that limps along with funding from its sugar daddy, US Weekly. Rolling Stone earned a reputation with some of the finest journalists and editors in the 1970s: Hunter S. Thompson, P.J. O'Rourke, Terry McDonell, David Rosenthal, Bob Love, Tim Cahill, John Walsh, Bill Greider... But they all quit.
Now Rolling Stone resorts to cheap parlor tricks such as getting interviewees drunk and conflating quotes to get a headline or two. It's not a secret on this side of the fence -- grabbing any underling to represent the boss.
Hunter's dear friends saw it first hand after one of Rolling Stone's hired thugs tried to bring Hunter down with the same tactics.
So, I salute Lara Logan for standing up for the fading integrity of the profession, and shake my head at poor Matt Taibbi and his fellow Hastings at what was once a great news magazine.