Allahpundit @ Hot Air:
I tweeted this link last night and John Ziegler replied, “Isn’t this guild statement the ultimate smoking gun of liberal media bias? Didn’t do same for David Geffen’s efforts to buy LAT”. Precisely my point in yesterday’s post. If the media was as neutral as they pretend to be for professional (and political) advantage, any bid from a strong partisan, whether left or right, should cause jitters about the newsroom becoming “unbalanced.” Where’s the hand-wringing over liberal ideologues buying up media?
Here’s the Guild statement in full, via Jim Romenesko. Note that there’s no hand-wringing over traditional union concerns like the Kochs cutting wages, layoffs, reducing hours, etc. The objection is purely political, fraudulently dressed up as concern that the chastity of our impartial media might — gasp — be violated by ideology. In terms of pure contempt for the reader’s intelligence, the boldface bit here is the rhetorical equivalent of a middle finger:
Recently you’ve seen many petitions asking that the Koch brothers not be allowed to buy the Tribune Company’s newspapers. We understand why the Kochs breed this distrust. They are active political proponents of harsh right-wing positions. We’re also not certain that Tribune will listen to anything but money when the final decision is made.
What we do know is that great papers publish credible, trusted journalism online and on the printed page. Whoever comes to own these mastheads needs to understand that protecting newsrooms from ideological taint is no small thing. The future of American journalism depends on the ability to print truth, not opinion.
We call on Tribune to make a pledge that they’ll only sell to a buyer that will protect the objectivity of the news product by making a public commitment to doing so. The Newspaper Guild-CWA and the Communications Workers of America seek your support in this goal.
Yesterday I wanted the Kochs to buy the paper to spite the bien-pensants there who can’t stop getting high on the “untainted” scent of their own partisan farts. Now I want someone like Soros to buy it so that we can grind their faces in this statement when the Guild inevitably issues no objection to that sale. Actually, though, this fits with the trend I wrote about recently vis-a-vis Gosnell of the media becoming more candid about its biases over time provided that it doesn’t have to correct those biases.
I remember a time when the ideal was that it was important to allow the presentation of a variety of opinions, and when the MSM held up impartiality as a virtue. The guild is now suddenly concerned with “ideological taint” after ignoring decades of leftist bias and yellow journalism? What, are they now afraid of their citizens reading news that may possibly not support the progressive agenda? Do these political hacks tremble at the possibility of having the blinders removed?
If the Koch brothers do buy the paper, clean house and start it us as a real, ethical journalistic operation (rather than another far-left Democrat rag,), I might consider subscribing.
The left is up in arms because, like cockroaches, they cannot stand the light of truth being shined upon them. Having a newspaper that was not simply a Pravda for the DNC might cause some of the LIVs and muddle-headed celebrities to be exposed to some measure of reality.
This is one of the funniest essays I’ve read in a longtime; like whores sweating in church, our Progressive media is frightened the true nature of their sanctimonious “objective” reporting will be exposed to America, hilarious!
If not the LAT, it will be another major Liberal rag, they are all in financial trouble. LOL