The rise of rectal journalism

[realFedUp]

http://www.workingforchange.com/blog/

The rise of rectal journalism
David Sirota

A lot has already been written about Joe Klein's latest column - a true foray into fantasy. The man is the epitome of a journalist who is so self-absorbed, so obsessed with himself, or so lazy that he quite literally thinks he can just make things up. But sadly, Klein epitomizes a new brand of journalism sweeping the nation. It's what I call Rectal Journalism because its based on reporters and pundits simply pulling stuff right out of their asses and peddling it as fact, when in fact it is anything but.
Here's what I'm talking about. Klein writes:

"A strong majority would favor the NSA program ...Democrats are about as far from the American mainstream on these issues as Republicans were when they invaded the privacy of Terri Schiavo's family in the right-to-die case last year."

Klein published his piece one day after the Associated Press published its poll showing "a majority of Americans want the Bush administration to get court approval before eavesdropping on people inside the United States, even if those calls might involve suspected terrorists." In criticizing the administration for not getting warrants as required by law, Democrats were standing with 56 percent of the public. By contrast, ABC News reported that just 27 percent of the public supported the Republicans' intervention in the Schiavo affair. In other words, Klein made this assertion even though the hard data was there for him to check. He just chose not to look at it.

This penchant by pundits to pull things straight out of their rectum is really becoming a widespread problem - and it has been on full display over the last few weeks. For example, MSNBC's Chris Matthews recently painted Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) as living a middle-class lifestyle - days after the Associated Press published an expose actually analyzing hundreds of documents showing that as DeLay "became a king of campaign fund-raising, he lived like one, too." Specifically, "over the past six years, the former House majority leader and his associates have visited places of luxury most Americans have never seen, often getting there aboard corporate jets arranged by lobbyists and other special interests."

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[EST]

1. Your article makes good sense.

Would you please run it through spell checker, so it't easier to understand? Bless you.

[realFedUp]

2. You're right....David Sirota should have checked this over...

I'll do what I can.

[Uncle Joe]

3. Hmm, sounds like American Journalism needs an enema. n/t

[applegrove]

4. As if the Justice Department couldn't have gotten the needed emergency

wire tap orders after the fact. That is the issue.

[Jade Fox]

5. This is good.....

Pundits passing themselves off as journalists is crap.

Anyone calling themselves a journalist should be severely fined and made to publicly recant anything they say that is either untrue or misleading.

[FiveGoodMen]

6. Absolutely!

They keep doing it because it never costs them anything.