Inside the Collapsing Media Empire of Deceased GOP Sleaze-Peddler Andrew Breitbart

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/inside-collapsing-media-empire-deceased-gop-sleaze-peddler-andrew-breitbart

***SNIP

In the immediate aftermath of Breitbart's death last year, at age 43, the Beltway media reflexively whitewashed and glorified his work and legacy, canonizing a reactionary circus barker as some kind of American Icon, a gonzo iconoclast, a conservative punk rocker, or a "Zany, Magnetic Media Hacker," as Wired's Noah Shachtman put it. Publications ranging from Time, the Washington Post and Slate sang Breitbart's praises; scores of ambitious up-and-coming media figures burned both ends of the candle to compose the seminal Andrew Breitbart funeral tribute.

Some examples:

The Los Angeles Times: "His genius was rooted in the realization that in the new media universe, being outrageous often gets far more attention than being authoritative...In many ways, Breitbart was a throwback to the subversive media manipulators of the 1960s, especially counterculture provocateurs like Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin. They courted the media with bizarre antics. Breitbart often did the same."
Jack Shafer in Reuters: "I admired the way he ignored journalistic convention and the usual ethical standards to pursue the stories that were important to him. I admired his entrepreneurial approach to journalism and his disdain for the credentialed, self-important press corps."
Time: "Breitbart gave hard and must have expected to get it back hard. He came out of the American political tradition that if you cared about things, then you fought about them...Part of Breitbart's legacy is a rise in the power of openly partisan journalism outlets and contested news. But if another part of his legacy–as exemplified by the first reaction to his death–is a rise in skepticism, alertness and critical reading of the media, that's not entirely a bad thing.

[chervilant]

1. Or,

maybe he was a self-righteous, bloviating blow-hard. (I choose door number three...)

[LuvNewcastle]

2. So Jack Shafer admired his lack of ethical standards.

The demise of the newspapers didn't just happen because of internet news. It's happening because people like Shafer and Breitbart have abused the public's trust. Who can trust jackals like those two to report the news fairly and accurately?

[Katashi_itto]

3. Is it already time to celebrate again? Time to pass out some Margret Thatcher deathcake!

[Bolo Boffin]

4. It needs to collapse faster. n/t

[hatrack]

5. Fascinating article - kind of like watching a nature show about lampreys, but fascinating

[randome]

6. No, he just should have been in another line of work.

[Ikonoklast]

7. Rye whiskey, double cheeseburgers and massive amounts of cocaine.

Breitbart was a 'journalist' much in the same way that I'm Queen Victoria.

[eppur_se_muova]

8. Full article definitely worth a read. nt

[winstars]

11. +1,000,000,000

[Berlum]

9. Republicans slobber over a dead liar with no "ethical standards"

No wonder no one respects Republicans. Their 'values' are right out of the cesspool.

[Dawson Leery]

10. The conservative entertainment complex is a weapon of mass destruction.

One more thing: Breitbart and OBL are dead, GM is alive.

[geek tragedy]

12. Breitbart: Still dead, his legacy rotting, nt

[eissa]

13. The BEST quote of the article

"What Breitbart really left behind is not so much a media business as an asylum for fringe-right degenerates, a motley collection of depraved losers, beer hall rage-a-holics and downright freaks offering themselves up as mercenaries for the rich and powerful, taking dirty jobs no one with a shred of self-respect would consider. As hired-assassins who couldn't hit the side of a barn if their lives depended on it, the unlikely heirs Breitbart once hired as sycophantic underlings come off as a comedy troupe of slapstick fascists — and it would be funny, if not for the powerful corporate forces sponsoring their attempts at sectarian smears and top-down class warfare."

[Arkana]

14. Good. Breitbart's corpse deserves to be saturated with as much urine as possible.

That man ruined lives with his dishonesty.

[Hissyspit]

15. Kick nt

[Tom Ripley]

16. Breaking News: Andrew Breitbart is Still Dead

[Raine]

17. He's one asshole whose coffin I would've loved to kick. nt