Media Objectivity

I'm sure Jim has heard of this liberal masquerading as a journalist.

Nicole Brodeur cheered at Monday's news meeting "because I think Karl Rove is a dangerous man who has done enough whispering in President Bush's ear." She now regrets it. "It lacked consideration for other people in the room who may have other views about Karl Rove and George Bush, and held their tongues. It also flew in the face of the standard of objectivity that we as journalists try to uphold every day. Worse, it validates every fear people have about the media."

Here is another blog's coverage, and some comments.

Then, there's this sniveling backpedal.

Times Executive Editor David Boardman was dismayed at our outburst.

In an internal memo to the newsroom, he wrote, "A good newsroom is a sacred and magical place in which we can and should test every assumption, challenge each other's thinking, ask the fundamental questions those in power hope we will overlook.

"... It is about independent thinking and sound, facts-based journalism," he continued, "the difference between what we do and the myopic screed that is passed off as 'advocacy journalism' these days."

I'll give you a moment to stop laughing...

Most newspapers abandoned independent thinking a long time ago, and many stopped even pretending to be objective after the 2000 election. Oh, they still claim it, but they don't make any effort to be it.

Alternative media is exploding because the major media can't be trusted to give us straight, unbiased news reporting. They are inundated with twits like Nicole Brodeur.