The media killed this story within the first 48 hours - they made the premise the "timing" and saying it was being "politicized" -
Not necessarily. The investigation continues. If another person is linked to Berger's thefts, it becomes a conspiracy worse than Watergate.
The Berger story wouldn't be dead if he got arrested. We only have our own timidity to blame on that one. He needs indicting, badly.
I can't remember them having multiple orgasms over the timing of the leak of Bush's drunk driving record three days before the election or the indictment of Caspar Weinberger on the eve of the election.
Lanny Davis knew his game when he admitted this was the best week of 52 to leak this story, fein outrage over the "timing" and watch as other stories wash it away. Only a Federal indictment will force this back into the limelight, and that seems unlikely.
The media killed this story within the first 48 hours - they made the premise the "timing" and saying it was being "politicized"
Journalism is nonfiction ("not admittedly fiction") entertainment.Journalism can be spoken of as an entity like the mafia rather than as competing businesses because journalists systematically limit the competition among themselves to superficial elements such as the individual reporters and editors. When it comes to the main event - to "what is important" - journalism is a mutual admiration society.
Journalism hides the freedom it actually has in story selection behind rules like "if it bleeds it leads" and "there's nothing more useless than yesterday's newspaper." But in fact journalism controls the national agenda - and journalism can rehash Watergate at any time - for any reason or no reason. Story selection is the whole game.
- You are objective as long and I am objective.
- If you ever say I am liberal,
you get your legs brokeyou are "not a journalist, not objective." And it won't be just me saying it; the whole of journalism will pile on and you will get terrible PR. And in this business we all know what bad PR can do to someone. We wouldn't want that to happen to you, would we?
- By the way, since everyone knows it isn't a serious accusation, it won't hurt if you call me "conservative." Just to balance out what the conservatives say about me, to position me as being objective. I'll do the same for you. Thanks. Just as long as we neither one of us mean it. 'Cause if it were actually true that would bring the rest of journalism down on us like a ton of bricks.
The idea around which "objective journalism" coheres - the idea around which all of liberalism coheres - is that nothing actually matters but PR. The cavalier behavior of the entire Clinton Administration can be understood in no other way. Hazel O'Leary in charge of our nuclear secrets!! "Pants" Berger in charge of national security!
And that is why liberals never accepted the result of the 2000 election - as far as they are concerned, once Gore was declared the winner of Florida he had won the PR crown. After that, details like the law, the Constitution, and the actual votes of actual voters are irrelevant to them. And that is why liberalism tends to be actually treasonous.
Why Broadcast Journalism is
Unnecessary and Illegitimate