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October 11, 2004
In want of theory...
A reader has asked me to comment on the Mark Halperin memo. I was on a blogging break and "missed" it. Yes I saw it. I harumphfed that it was bad luck that interesting news always seems to happen when I take blogging breaks. I let it go.
Okay, very quickly, I'm largely in agreement with Josh Marshall and Jay Rosen.
That said, I think the memo suffers from a lack of theory, i.e. Halperin would have been better able to state his case cogently had he cited: 1) the actual meaning of journalistic objectivity (more here), 2) the need for journalists to practice a discipline of verification, and 3) the need for journalists to act as custodians of fact.
Instead, as Rosen points out, "some of the word combinations in Halperin's memo, lifted up, dragged across town, inserted into Holy Liberal Bias Theology and outfitted with scare language at either end, can be made to end up sounding like he's saying... tilt Kerry or some such sublime thing."
Question: Does the Halperin memo compare to the Fox memos?
Is the Bush campaign telling more lies or advancing more spin or spewing more propaganda than the Kerry campaign? I have no idea (but I have a guess). I know how to find out: The press should be practicing a discipline of verification and acting as custodians of fact.
Posted by acline at October 11, 2004 7:27 PM | | Spotlight