Gerard Van Der Leun, who has labored in the fields of the Mainstream Media more than most of us, explains the silence around the Eason Jordan Affair:
To take on an Eason Jordan and expose him would be a noble thing for a major journalist to do, but it would also put a large check mark against his name on the Unwritten Blacklist as a traitor. Even if Jordan were brought down, especially if Jordan were brought down, the journalists behind it would find their chances for other lucrative job offers, for advancement, and for invitations to all the right parties in New York, Washinton, and the Hamptons severely curtailed. Their actions against an Eason Jordan would be quietly noted by those in hiring and assignment positions higher up the media food chain. After all, to take on one is to take on all.
It used to be the case that if you “struck at a prince” you had to be sure to kill him. Things are not that simple in the upper realms of the unelected powerbrokers of MSM. Now if you strike at a prince you have to kill all the others around them. Unless, of course, you don’t care about appearing on cable news shows to sooth your vanity and pump your book, or care about landing that book deal to begin with, or care about someday having a show of your own, or care about advancing at your institution or receiving a better offer from another newspaper, magazine, television network. Strike at someone like Eason Jordon and all these things will, somehow, just not be offered to you.
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14 Comments
1. richard mcenroe:Just more evidence that Hollywood and “journalism” are overlapping to an unhealthy degree. Remember the backlash Robert Stack ran into after he publicly accused David Begelman of theft?
Feb 6, 2005 - 2:13 pm 2. Patrick Tyson:richard—
It was Cliff Robertson who blew that whistle.
Feb 6, 2005 - 2:19 pm 3. Manco_Dollars:My opinion about the 20% conservative MSM journalists who won’t report for fear of blacklisting. They should get a different profession and stop whoring for the evil MSM, because that’s exactly what they are at this moment, media whores.
Feb 6, 2005 - 2:24 pm 4. Stephen_M:Manco_Dollars. Insurgents.
Feb 6, 2005 - 2:36 pm 5. PeterUK:The corollary to this must be that the MSM has to target those outside its incestuous ambit,those who do not have a financial stake in,or are supported by the MSM.
Feb 6, 2005 - 3:22 pm 6. richard mcenroe:Patrick ó You’re right, my bad.
Did anyone else just hear Michael Douglas proudly announce the 101st Airborne was the first unit ashore on the beaches of Normandy in his Superbowl speech?
Feb 6, 2005 - 3:29 pm 7. Caroline:I wonder if there is a similar dynamic at play in the utter silence of the MSM re the just released Freedom House report on what is going on in Saudi funded mosques in the US.
Feb 6, 2005 - 4:29 pm 8. Athos:I have to admit in my following of Easongate, I never considered this as a possible impact on the reporting of the comments from Davos. It does make a lot of sense, particulary when one considers the stories from Bernie Goldbery, author of Bias.
Still, whistle blowers are generally revered by MSM – so is this yet another case of hypocrisy?
As for Michael Douglas – well, he reads what’s written for him. The writer probably meant 101st first on the ground in Occupied France on D-Day…..
Feb 6, 2005 - 5:09 pm 9. richard mcenroe:Athos ó If you inform on that guy, you’re a principled whistleblower. If you inform on me, you’re a disloyal rat fink stool pigeon who’s gonna sleep with the fishes…
And Douglas is old enough to know better. Talking heads should be held accountable for the words they talk. Suppose he’d called the Tuskegee Airmen tankers?
Feb 6, 2005 - 6:01 pm 10. Kyda Sylvester:Seems to me that’s a big part of the problem. Too many journalists prize those invitations to the Hamptons, cocktail parties, book deals and tv face time far more than the more mundane rewards derived from doing their (ostensive) jobs well. Where are they who just want to ferret out and report the news? And the hypocrisy of a profession that lives and dies by leaks and whistle blowing is simply breathtaking. Ask not for whom the whistle blows, MSM, it blows for thee.
Feb 6, 2005 - 6:18 pm 11. Joseph (formerly Samuel):People, I live in Washington and I will tell you it is one damn incestuous place, both politically and among the MSM. I’m sorry Manco_Dollars It is easy to say…
… 20% conservative MSM journalists who won’t report for fear of blacklisting. They should get a different profession and stop whoring for the evil MSM, because that’s exactly what they are at this moment, media whores.
If you have a family and any embarrassing history it is difficult, if you notice most of those conservatives you might exempt from calling “media whores” are in positions to be inoculated from such consequences. For example they might work for openly political publications like the Weekly Standard or National Review or perhaps an alternative newspaper like the vastly under-rated Washington Times. In fact with out the Washington Times Clinton probably would have never been held accountable as the WACO and NYT endeavored to do like what was done with Dan Rather and memo-gate, sweep it under a rug and do some clean up maintenance work. Michael Isikoff can tell you about that as can others. Isikoff is a liberal by the way.
I have a good friend that works for WAPO and has since become rather disgusted with the MSM. While the WAPO’s editorials are fairly reasonable the rest of the paper is not. He has stories he could tell but wouldn’t dare because it would be very difficult to prove and feels he would be painted as some bitter employee with an axe to grind, in other words he would be a potential target for personal ruin. I agree hero’s are needed and to be commended for taking such risks, but people should not be so easily denigrated for simply choosing to be normal. Certainly referring to them as “media whores” for not making sacrifices you so freely feel easy to declare them capable of subjecting themselves and family to is easy on your part, but also borderline thoughtless. Many bide their time for the opportunity and will take it one day, they are not whores for working the profession and feeding their families and not putting themselves in a “line of fire” and not trying to stop what they are as of now incapable of stopping. It is coming home to roost for the MSM.
Feb 6, 2005 - 6:25 pm 12. Terrye:Hell… I heard that Neil whats his face on Fox News Watch call Bill Kristol and Charles Krauthammer partisan flacks because they were consulted on a couple of speeches, but something like this? Not worth mentioning.
Feb 6, 2005 - 6:58 pm 13. Kamakazi:The most worrisome part of this “Black List” type thinking is that it is not just the press but appears to include Hollywood, most of our colleges and universities, many other school teachers and administrators, most NGO’s and other “Do gooder” organizatons, the U.N., the State Department, the C.I.A. and now we see that it dominates the world elites to the point where the head of CNN can accuse our troops of purposely killing and torturing journalists, on camera in front of people from all over the world, without even the thought that anyone might challenge those statements.
Although all this is very scary, I am encouraged that the Amercan people are beginning to understand and that blogs like this one will eventually wake the world up to what could best be described as the “Vast Left Wing Conspiracy”.
Cheers
Feb 6, 2005 - 6:58 pm 14. richard mcenroe:Patriots Win.
Feb 6, 2005 - 7:17 pm