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Like the nearby Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the Newseum -- Washington's museum dedicated to journalism -- displays dinosaurs. . . .(Objectively, Michael Gerson is a douchebag.)
Behind a long rack of preserved, historic front pages, there is a kind of journalistic mausoleum, displaying the departed. The Ann Arbor News, closed July 23 after 174 years in print. The Rocky Mountain News, taken at age 150. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which passed quietly into the Internet. . . .
But a visit to the Newseum is a reminder that what is passing is not only a business but also a profession -- the journalistic tradition of nonpartisan objectivity. . . .
At its best, the profession of journalism has involved a spirit of public service and adventure -- reporting from a bomber during a raid in World War II, or exposing the suffering of Sudan or Appalachia, or rushing to the site of the World Trade Center moments after the buildings fell.(None of which Michael Gerson has ever done.)
By these standards, the changes we see in the media are also a decline.(And by any standard, Michael Gerson is a douchebag.)
Most cable news networks have forsaken objectivity entirely and produce little actual news, since makeup for guests is cheaper than reporting.(Translation: "WWAAAAHH! I'm not on O'Reilly!")
Most Internet sites display an endless hunger to comment and little appetite for verification.(Translation: "Andrew Sullivan is my favorite blogger.")
Free markets, it turns out, often make poor fact-checkers, instead feeding the fantasies of conspiracy theorists from "birthers" to Sept. 11, 2001, "truthers."(Translation: "I'm on the payroll of a Saudi-funded think tank. What do I care about free markets?")
Bloggers in repressive countries often show great courage, but few American bloggers have the resources or inclination to report from war zones, famines and genocides.Next time you're tempted to denounce somebody as a complete douchebag, resist the temptation, because no douchebag is more truly complete than Michael Gerson.
(Via Memeorandum. More from Mark Steyn at NRO and Big Government.)
UPDATE: It would be a terrible thing if anyone resorted to sensationalistic headlines:
Saudi-Funded Pundit BemoansObjectivity!
Lack of Objective Journalism
I sent a reply to his email. Basically journalism is dead in America already. It just refuses to lay down.
ReplyDeleteFor weeks, I've been getting 3-5 phone calls each day from the LA Times trying to get me to resubscribe since I cancelled back in 2005 or 2006. When I opt to answer the call, I give them the same reason why I am not interested: "I am not interested in PAYING for day-old left-wing propoganda that I get for free today."
ReplyDeleteI would definitely renew by subscription were the LA Times to suddenly awaken to the reality that they are the only newspaper left in a target-rich environment. LA is about as corrupt as it gets but what citizens already know seems seems lost on a local media that absolutely refuses to report it. Maybe they don't know anything period. Certainly nothing I would be willing to pay for.
Just what exactly do these dopes think would make us buy their newspaper when they refuse to report what we keep telling them that we ARE interested in and would pay for? (Crickets. Tumbleweeds. Squeaking door. )
I once visited Sturbridge Village, a living history park in MA, which is staffed by people trained to play various villagers in historically accurate character. I once asked a shop keeper whose shop adjoined a lawyer's office:
"Exactly how much work could there possibly be for a lawyer in such a small village?"
She replied: "Not enough to keep one lawyer busy but far too much for two."
I guess the same logic applies to newspapers.
Does Mr. Gerson know Grover Norquist who should be on every conservative's Evil List?
ReplyDeleteQuoted from and Linked to at:
BABY, WE WERE BORN TO FISK