Fire Someone - Alterman [View All]

[dArKeR]

This is a media convention (which is why I’m here) and not a political convention, and Tim Rutten has a useful observation about it here.

The most serious problem confronting the American news media today is neither creeping political bias nor the tensions between new and old technologies. Those topics may obsess media critics, but their significance pales alongside the greater issue, which is corporate managers' growing inability to distinguish between the public's interest — fascination with entertainment and celebrity — and the public interest — a deference to the common good.

Rutten makes these comments in what I think is the proper context, moreover, USA Today’s decision to hire Ann Coulter to cover the convention.  They got what they asked for, even though they were unwilling to print it, as you can tell from this.  I think it would be a healthy thing for journalism for someone to be fired over this.  I mean, for all the nonsense we’ve read during the past week asking the question of whether the legitimization of bloggers by the DNC is a good thing, it seems to me a journalistic institution that would pull a stunt like this one has no business telling anyone anything about professional ethics.  Ditto the cable folks.  Really, do Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity have anything to teach Josh Marshall, Brad DeLong or Atrios about how to distinguish illusion from reality and present it to an audience in an illuminating fashion?  I think not.  Journalism is committing slow-motion suicide.  The celebration of the likes of Ann Coulter is weapon of choice.  I will mourn the death of the body, but not of its killers.  Eric Boehlert is on the case as well.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3449870/