Kurtz &posse whine about the heat as bloggers hold feet to fire

[librechik]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/nation/columns/kurtzhoward/?nav=pq

The rise of the blogosphere remains one of the most exciting communications developments in decades, giving ordinary folks the chance to bite back at a media establishment widely viewed as arrogant. It's little surprise that mainstream media types don't like being questioned, challenged and chided by critics typing from their basements and bedrooms.

But the increasingly caustic nature of some online criticism is prompting many journalists to complain that their honesty and motivation are being trashed along with their work.

"You want to pay attention to what legitimate critics are saying out there," Nagourney says. "In journalism, you screw up from time to time. But it's become so toxic -- attacks for the sake of attacks."

During last year's presidential campaign, Nagourney says, he heard: " 'This guy is corrupt.' 'He's in Bush's pocket.' 'He's Jeb Bush's lapdog.' When you read that stuff, it's like, why should I take it seriously? If you pay too much attention to it, it can begin flipping you out a bit. There's a whole group of them who think the way to get attention is to attack people who work for the big papers."

Nagourney is one of the worst pretenders to journalistic professionalism in the bunch. I hope he is shaken, upsent, and finally waked up out of his long hypnotic sleep. If he displayed independence, he wouldn't open himself to such much deserved criticism. Obviously it is far more important to him please his GOP corporate bosses than it is to tell the truth.

If the press, which has abandoned it's role of public watchdog, merely told the truth, instead of typing GOP talking points, they wouldn't be plagued by these liberal bloggers nagging them with annoying emails. Instead, like just about any truthtelling journalist nowadays, they'd be out of a job.

[Kerrytravelers]

1. Yep, it sucks having to do your job, doesn't it kurtz and co.?

[Nite Owl]

2. They are either corrupt

or too stupid to be a true journalist. Either they are being told what to write, writing to prop up this administration or they do not do the proper research and do not have the capacity to be professionals.

[glitch]

3. Ha! Nagourney thinks he gets to determine legitimacy. Ironic.

Stenographers suckling at the corporate teat can't expect to be called journalists.

So many stenographers no longer have that credibility. They need to concentrate on getting their credibiity back, if they ever had it.

They really should to flip out a bit, because the echo chamber they are working is is killing any chance or even pretense they had to the noble profession of journalism.