“The journalists need to get in shape. Frankly, I’m getting tired of looking at their writing and seeing such shit. It’s completely unacceptable.”

—-Veteran bloggress Ann Althouse, an occasionally red-pilled liberal Democrat, expressing disgust in a pots yesterday with the state of American journalism after reviewing the (as usual) biased and partisan coverage of the Trump Administration, this time in reporting on Sec. of War Hegseth’s meeting yesterday with the Pentagon’s generals and admirals.

I was going to write about that meeting and President Trump’s characteristic stream-of consciousness speech that followed it, then saw Althouse’s piece this morning naming what she felt were the worst headlines about the “Hegsethathon.”

Ann has expressed annoyance with biased coverage of Trump and his administrations before, but I think this is the first time she condemned the entire Axis media, to which I say, 1) “Good!” and 2) “What took her so long?” American journalists have overwhelmingly been avoiding ethical journalism since at least 2008, and my blog, unlike hers, blew the whistle, loudly, beginning in 2010. I suppose, as a liberal, Democrat law professor living and working in the bubble of Madison, Wisconsin who voted for Obama, Hillary and Biden, she can be forgiven for being blinded by confirmation bias and denial. Her commentariate has become far more conservative than she is (or was) in the interim. Ann should have become “sick of seeing such shit” long ago.

Hegseth’s meeting was attacked by the mainstream media from the second that it was announced. Why? A leader seeking cultural and organizational change should gather his or her commanders to ensure they understand their mission, goals and objectives. Much of the criticism was over the meeting demanding live, in person attendance. This objection demonstrates generational ignorance. A live meeting with everyone present and sitting together is and always will be the most powerful way to build group bonds and common purpose. I know this as a live theater director and a public speaker, and also as someone who knows the visceral differences from watching a baseball game or a movie in a crowd and seeing them alone or with one or two companions on a TV screen. We have a whole Zoom-warped generation who can’t grasp that, and their institutions and organizations will suffer as a result, probably forever.

Ann’s critique of the news coverage makes some excellent points once we get past her trademark pedantry ( “Unless Hegseth pronounced “FAFO” as a single word, it’s not an ‘acronym.’ It’s an initialism. And that’s something else wrong with the article….”). For example:

• On the New republic calling Hegseth’s speech to the brass “disturbing,” she writes, “I think it’s ludicrous for a journalistic article to call it a ‘disturbing speech.’ Who is disturbed? The headline writer? Were the military leaders disturbed? All of them? Some of them? Don’t create fake objectivity. Someone needs to have been disturbed. I want to know who and why…Was it a “disturbing speech” because of what Hegseth said or was a ‘disturbing speech’ because it was disturbing to have to travel and sit in the audience to hear?” Of course, she is criticizing the now familiar technique of citing the reporter’s opinion as fact. 
• Ann quotes the New Republic: “He ordered the armed forces to reset its combat requirements to the ‘highest male standard only,’ a decision that would effectively force women out of the military.” She then writes, “‘it would effectively force women out of the military’ because we know women can’t meet the standard that has been required for men? Quite aside from the probably unintended concession that this means biological men don’t belong in women’s sports, you’re not ‘out of the military’ just because you don’t meet ‘combat requirements.’ At worst, you’re just back to where you were before women were allowed into combat. That is, back to 2013.” Lowering physical requirements to allow women who couldn’t meet them enter firefighting ranks, law enforcement, military academies and the armed services combat troops has been near the zenith of DEI insanity even before DEI was a thing. As Hegseth said yesterday, “If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is.” That is and has always been the logical and responsible response to this issue, but the Axis is invested in calling it “sexist.” 
• Ann also properly slapped at the Washington Post for a headline that called Trump’s speech to the group “an unusually meandering speech.” That was just a lie: what’s unusual is if a Trump speech isn’t “meandering.” Did the Post not watch Trump’s speech at the GOP Convention in 2024?

Well, I guess “better late than never” applies to Althouse here, but it’s amazing that it took her so long to decide that journalism disappearing into propaganda is “unacceptable.” I guess she doesn’t read Ethics Alarms…