The Mucky Media

I happened to catch this weekend's Fox News Watch program on cable and thought I'd relate portion of the discussion. Appearing on the program were:

Eric Burns - Fox News Watch moderator
Neal Gabler - Media critic
Jane Hall - American University
James Pinkerton - Newsday
Cal Thomas - Syndicated Columnist

When discussing the lack of major media coverage on allegations of infidelity by John Kerry, it was generally agreed by the pundits that the major media (NYTimes, WaPo, et.al.) are "tidy" and other media are "mucky." Their message was that the "tidy media" doesn't report on allegations. And, with Gabler, Hall, and Pinkerton being most vocal, several minutes were specifically devoted to denigrating the "mucky media." It's interesting that the only names mentioned as being part of the "mucky media" were Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, but it was clearly understood that they were generally referring to Matt Drudge and the blogosphere.

In fairness to Cal Thomas, his voice was essentially drowned out by the arrogant smooch feasting of Gabler, Hall, and Pinkerton in praising the tidy and slamming the mucky. Eric Burns, as moderator, just seemed to go with the flow.

As for the "tidy media" not reporting allegations, that's pure hogwash. Any allegation against a Republican is front page news to the "tidy media."