What's So Bad about the JournoList?

Real Clear Politics - Horse Race Blog ^ | 7/23/2010 | Jay Cost

[Smogger]

Tucker Carlson has this to say about the title question:

We're not contesting the right of anyone, journalist or not, to have political opinions. (I, for one, have made a pretty good living expressing mine.) What we object to is partisanship, which is by its nature dishonest, a species of intellectual corruption. Again and again, we discovered members of Journolist working to coordinate talking points on behalf of Democratic politicians, principally Barack Obama. That is not journalism, and those who engage in it are not journalists. They should stop pretending to be. The news organizations they work for should stop pretending, too.

I disagree with part of this. Partisanship is not "by its nature dishonest, a species of intellectual corruption." Partisanship for the sake of partisanship is indeed corrupt - e.g. Tammany-style patronage politics - but partisanship that comes about because of big, important differences on issues that matter is not. American democracy is unthinkable without the two political parties, so partisanship can't be all bad.

[Smogger]

"JournoList looks to me to be yet another mile-marker on this country's return to a partisan press. This does not upset me very much at all. I think American democracy is unthinkable without the political parties, so I do not think that a partisan press is all that bad. And it might finally stop journalists and academics from acquiring the inherently political authority that comes with monikers like "objective news" or "social science" when they are in fact promoting subjective values. That would be a good thing."

I love Jay Cost.

[Personal Responsibility]

It is the pretense of impartiality the Lefty media portrays that is the problem.

No one cares that Rachel Maddow espouses leftist view points. She is not pretending to be objective. It’s when Tom Brokaw, Charles Gibson, Katie Couric and the writers for the NY Times pretend to be impartial - that’s where the damage is done.

[Gaffer]

In a nutshell, partisanship, when overt and in the open is healthy. When it is in private, in collusion with others it becomes subversion and deceit, period. The exercises these so called objective watchdogs of the First Amendment conducted were even more eggregious than that of the tyrant which now occupies the White House - much more.

In a perfect French Revolution sort of world, journalists would be the first to get a really close haircut, followed by politicians and then lawyers and judges.

[Keith in Iowa]

>>>What’s So Bad about the JournoList?

It’s a bunch of holier than thou elitists putting on a public face of objectivity and non-partisanship on one hand while the other hand was anything but objective and non-partisan. That’s what’s so bad about the JournoList.

[Carley]

A conspiracy to deliberately spread lies.

What could be wrong?

[screaminsunshine]

All you have to do is listen to the Montages Rush put on. The Journolists Parrot the DNC.

[Deb]

Its all fine as long as JournoListers like Jeffrey Toobin appear on CNN as their "Legal Editor" wearing his "I'm a Democrat" t-shirt.

This would have been helpful during his adamant defense of Clinton during impeachment.

[bwc2221]

There’s nothing wrong with Journolist as long as MSM admits it’s pure propaganda and stops trying to pass itself off as objective journalism.

[El Cid]

I agree with most of the other posters. Partisanship in itself isn't bad - its good to have opinions and convictions.
What is evil is the presentation of what is ostensibly 'unbiased news', by the networks and newspapers, when in reality it is the presentation of propaganda seen through the prism of a leftist viewpoint.
For too long these 'gate-keepers' have skewed what is considered 'newsworthy'. They have covered up, or chosen not to report, on anything that soils a leftist politician or program. They ignore large pro-life marches, and magnify smaller leftist demonstrations (often providing air time to handfuls of leftist agitators). They ignore the government unions stranglehold on our economic recovery (i.e., there will be no recovery if government pension plans, that the government gave themselves, is not addressed. Nary a word comes out of our news 'guardians' on this minor subject). They go on crusades to attack any Republican, or conservative, who stumbles. Or if they don't stumble they are more than happy to make things up (e.g., the attacks on Sarah Palin; and on George Bush).

That's the heinous part of the news media. They fed lies to the public by presenting themselves as journalists, and not propagandists.

[Maverick68]

bump

[GeronL]

When they got caught they just went and started a new list:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/07/meet-the-new-journolist-smaller-than-the-old-journolist/60159/

[ully2]

Its a conspiracy by liberal journalists to kill your first amendment rights. Thats what.

[Old North State]

Another practical problem with partisans masquerading as objective observers is the modern political process itself. Like debates. We get committed leftists like Gwen Ifill and Jim Lauer etc., ‘moderating’ debates when they are clearly on the side of one of the contestants.

[dead]

If you sell me a horse and call it a horse, you're an honest man.

If you sell me a cat and call it a horse, you're a fraud and I'm an idiot.

I just object to these hacks calling themselves journalists and their implied assumptions about me.

[vox_freedom]

In a nutshell, partisanship, when overt and in the open is healthy. When it is in private, in collusion with others it becomes subversion and deceit, period.

That!

[worst-case scenario]

Are you saying that in a real Perfect world, all these people would be executed? Sentenced to death? Why?

[the_Watchman]

I disagree with part of this. Partisanship is not "by its nature dishonest, a species of intellectual corruption."

He has taken Tucker out of context. Clearly Tucker was talking about people who were purporting to engage in journalism.

Putting Tucker back in context: Partisanship, while cloaking oneself in the mantle of unbiased journalism, is by its nature dishonest, a species of intellectual corruption.

[Gaffer]

Saw your homepage...good stuff. Also saw the Benelli....I’m a Mossberg man myself, mainly because of price. Have you looked at the Knoxx shock absorber stocks? They drop the recoil a pantload! I’ve got at least 5 shotguns with them.....great kickback reducer... you just gotta make sure your trigger guard has about an inch’s worth room in it when the recoil is absorbed...

[the_Watchman]

so I do not think that a partisan press is all that bad.

A openly partisan press is not necessarily objectionable. What is highly objectionable is a partisan press passing themselves off as unbiased. Thus, I do not "love Jay Cost".

[BuckeyeTexan]

Here's a link to the current thread on JournoList members and their news organizations. If you post to that thread, you will be pinged when the list is significantly updated.