Debate continues over the Washington Post's forcing out of blogger Dave Weigel for writing uncomplimentary things about the conservatives he covered in a Washington Post blog. This is unfortunate, since not only did Weigel get the short end of the stick, but the incident raises myriad issues simultaneously. I addressed a few of these in my last Nation column, but the discussion has continued, and this column by the Washington Post's conflict-of-interest-king, Howard Kurtz, among others, raise new questions about the Post's behavior and its meaning for the future of journalism.
Kurtz notes that "Weigel's departure sparked a backlash -- not so much against him as the newspaper that employed him." Kurtz rejects all such criticism as he defends the institution that provides one of his paychecks. "Weigel's resignation was accepted," he insists, "because, as he quickly recognized, his vituperative language against Matt Drudge, Rush Limbaugh and other conservatives had embarrassed the paper that hired him three months earlier to cover the right... Whoever leaked those messages from Journolist, an off-the-record group founded by Post blogger Ezra Klein, was out to torpedo Weigel, and it worked."
He goes on to add:
The truth is it's difficult for a mainstream organization to stand behind someone who wishes, however jokingly, for Drudge to set himself on fire, Limbaugh to die of a heart attack and other things (including an epithet beginning with "rat") that can't be reprinted here. Sure, Weigel was hired for his viewpoint (and reporting), but the MSM have certain boundaries, and always will.
Kurtz says he wishes "the Post's Web site had managed to find a real conservative voice in recent years."
In Kurtz's haste to defend his employer, he misses more than a few points of note, though his views are consistent with those expressed by his boss David Branculi, Weigel's editor Raju Narisetti, and the paper's ombudsman, Andrew Alexander, all of whom worried about the reaction of readers to the revelation that a) reporters have private opinions and b) conservatives complain when they don't get what they want.
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The so called "journalists" involved in JournoListGate are sorry excuses of humanity. Their pathetic attempts to skew the news to benefit Team Obama is horrendous. What's happening to our Republic?
Anyone who loves this Republic (whether Dem or GOP) knows what must be done on Nov 2nd. Don't be deflected by the "White Noise". Vote to save our way of life.
The Forth Estate has been corrupted & can no longer be relied upon. What should have been a great leap forward in our history (by electing the first black President) has become more like Mao's "Great Leap Forward" & we all know how that ended!!
You know what must be done come Nov 2nd......
"Good night, and good luck"
Journolistgate is going to be the gift that keeps on giving. As mentioned in previous posts when progs start feeding on one another it's a sign of what the future holds. They're already getting their excuses ready for the "earthquake" on Nov 2nd. The blame game commences.
This is going to be simply delicious.............................................
I just read "Kabuki Democracy" in The Nation. This is an article tailor made for Huffington Post. Please tell me you wil get it posted here. Most of us cannot post on The Nation as subscriptions are, at present, relatively expensive but your conclusions really need a huge discussion!.
realpolitic,
Exactly.
I see a growing trend and I don't like it one bit. This article was posted before 3:00 pm est and only ONE comment was posted. It is now 11:51PM? What are the odds that the moderators are working overtime lately???
http://dailycaller.com/2010/06/25/emails-reveal-post-reporter-savaging-conservatives-rooting-for-democrats/
http://dailycaller.com/2010/07/20/documents-show-media-plotting-to-kill-stories-about-rev-jeremiah-wright/