For a man who anchors a network newscast — which, any blogger will remind you, is a dying breed — Tom Brokaw (and his successor) continue to consume an inordinate amount of space in that proudly ascendant medium, the blogosphere.
Atrios quotes Brokaw lamenting the fact that the White House has never given the New York Times‘ Tom Friedman an “in-depth interview,” since “no reporter that I know covering national politics and the international policies that are of such great concern today know as much about them as Tom Friedman does …” Atrios is baffled that Brokaw could hold Friedman — whom he points out is a “currently a columnist, not a reporter” — in such high regard. “If that’s true,” he huffs, “we’re doooooomed.” (Atrios is clearly less impressed with Friedman’s interviews with cab drivers from faraway lands than is Brokaw, who likely takes limos.)
Instapundit’s hackle is up because Brokaw’s successor, Brian Williams, is — sacre bleu — “dissing bloggers.” CNBC reports that Williams recently dismissed the impact bloggers had on the presidential election “by quipping that the self-styled journalists are ‘on an equal footing with someone in a bathroom with a modem.'” “And yet,” Instapundit adds with just a touch of blogger triumphalism, “[bloggers are] kicking your ass.”
Tim Graham, at National Review‘s The Corner, also has a gripe about Williams. Graham warns “those who like to believe that since Williams is a NASCAR fan, he will somehow be more conservative,” to think twice, reporting that Williams once dared to suggest that it was “downright unpatriotic” to drive an SUV. Got that, Brian Williams? If you’re going to criticize SUV drivers, your “More-Conservative-Than-Tom-Brokaw” credentials will be revoked — NASCAR enthusiast or not.
Remaining on the right for a moment, Hugh Hewitt contends that the mainstream media (or “MSM,” in blogger shorthand) is ignoring a story out of the Netherlands — that an Amsterdam hospital that permits euthanasia has performed four mercy killings on terminally ill newborns. Hewitt, for one, “can find no major newspaper articles” on the topic this morning, despite the fact that Drudge carried the story yesterday, ensuring that “every newsroom in America knows” about it. (Who knew that the MSM doesn’t always take its cues from Drudge?)
For some left-leaning bloggers, the MSM targets du jour are CBS and NBC for apparently refusing to air an ad by the United Church of Christ. According to Josh Marshall, “if you watch [the church’s ad] you’ll see that [its] broad message of inclusion over intolerance places a prominent emphasis on acceptance of homosexuals in the life of the church.” Marshall moans: “We seem now to be in a country where political campaigns can be waged with flurries of ads replete with demonstrable falsehoods. And yet clear and tame political speech aimed at a pressing national debate isn’t acceptable.” Concludes MYDD’s Chris Bowers ominously: “Evil is winning. A terrible storm is gathering over our nation.”
‘Twas ever thus.
–Liz Cox Barrett
Liz Cox Barrett is a writer at CJR.