Josh Marshall: On an Intimidated Press

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

From a TPM Reader who covers the White House ...

You've puzzled out some of the reasons for which reporters feel besieged: Instant and often nasty feedback, the upsurge in criticism from the Left (and in "lynch them all" rhetoric on the Left, which is quite different from, say, the "On Bended Knee" or Daily Howler criticism). I've never felt intimidated (though I have been threatened with violence, spat on, and had a battery thrown at me). More like tired, or frustrated, or angry.

But you've missed the biggest reason: The instant "feedback" doesn't just go to our editors and publishers. Because our email addresses are out there and because of search engines that make it easy to get our home addresses and telephone numbers, the "feedback" is more and more hitting us personally.

I don't pretend to understand McCurry's rant, but when a colleague is the target of a blog-inspired swarm ("here is his email. Go tell him what you think!"), they can count on about 10-1000 emails, many of them including threats of violence. Or when a prominent talk show host pretends to puzzle over the Jewish last name of another colleague, repeatedly asking "hmmm, what kind of name is that" the result is the sudden arrival of copies of the New Testament at her home address.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/008345.php