Tag Archives: journalistic objectivity
The Washington Post Flunks Integrity, Conflicts, and Trustworthiness
The Washington Post Ombudsman had to write about 1) why a Post editor, Peter Perl, continued to employ Vargas and hid his immigration status for eight years after learning that he was in the country illegally and 2) why Vargas’s 4000 word piece about his deception (and the Post’s complicity in it) was killed by another Post editor, resulting in its being picked up and published by the New York Times. So the in-house ethics watchdog wrote about it, and concluded—nothing. Continue reading
“Are You a Flake?” Ethics
With only four well-chosen words, Fox news anchor Chris Wallace accomplished several objectives Sunday, all of them in the best tradition of ethical, objective, responsible journalism.
The words were “Are you a flake?,” posed to Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who is running for President. Continue reading
The News Media’s Unethical Political Word Games
Slyly substituting “immigrant” for “illegal immigrant” is cheating, putting a journalistic thumb on the scales of a legitimate policy dispute rather than submit to fair debate. I have come to believe that those who tolerate or defend the practice know that they have a losing argument, and can only prevail through rhetorical deception. Continue reading
Chicago Flash Mobs, Political Correctness, and the Arrogant Press
The Chicago media has adopted an odd policy in reporting flash mob attacks: it has not reported the fact that the mobs were made up of African-American youths. Unethical journalism. Continue reading
Filed under Citizenship, Journalism & Media, Law & Law Enforcement, Race, U.S. Society
The John Edwards Indictment
Cornell law professor Michael Dorf bucks the popular trend of arguing that the prosecution of John Edwards for campaign fundraising violations is based on a weak legal case. Continue reading
Ethics Dunces: Joe Klein and Chris Matthews
It was inevitable that the Chris Matthews Show would allow Joe Klein’s ethical blindness to reach full flower. The topic: the prosecution of John Edwards, serial cad. Continue reading
Abuse of Power and Press Intimidation At The White House
ncreasingly, it seems to me, a favored tactic of stalwarts, in the media and out of it, of the Obama administration is to try to silence critics rather than rebut them. This takes many forms: intimidation by labeling all criticism as proof of racism; using distorted definitions of civility to induce self-censorship, as with the “No Labels” effort and the attacks on Sarah Palin in the aftermath of the Tucson shooting; denying appropriate news coverage to stories illustrating the Administration’s copious missteps and shortcomings; and even calls for regulatory censorship of talk radio and Fox News on the theory that they are harmful and dangerous. This trend is disturbing. For the President of the United States to preside over efforts news media intimidation is more than disturbing; it is frightening. Continue reading
CNN, Flunking Journalistic Integrity 101
CNN does a story about political sex scandals. Guess which scandal it didn’t think warranted mention? Hint: the subject works for CNN. Continue reading
NBC Tries a Hit on Trump, and Exposes Its Own Incompetence
Donald Trump, loathsome as he is, was not “stumped” by a foolish trick question from Savannah Guthrie. She, and her media colleagues, were exposed once again as inept, unethical journalists. Continue reading
Global Warming Advocates Flunk Ethics, and Credibility…Again
The UNEP, having failed to erase the history of its bad prediction, neatly reissued the same projection, pushing it ahead to 2020! Then, the media dutifully publicized this frightening “scientific prediction,” never mentioning that the previous identical projection was a bust….because, you see, that would make us less likely to be properly alarmed. Continue reading
