Paul McLeary is a former CJR staff writer. Since 2008, he has covered the Pentagon for Foreign Policy, Defense News, Breaking Defense, and other outlets. He is currently a defense reporter for Politico.
If ever there were a case for journalism to give the people what they need, even if sometimes they say they don’t want it, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are it.
It’s sloppy for reporters to use vague references to partisan opposition research in their stories without providing facts to either prop it up, or shoot it down.
Are promises of "disclosure" enough to remove the taint of association between some journalists and their politically-connected spouses? We’re skeptical.