No Claims Of Fairness Here! 🙂

I often get a little bit annoyed when people automatically dismiss something written in a partisan publication purely because it is partisan. It’s tempting to do that, but it skews your world view if you assume that all conservative or liberal newspapers and magazines are liars. It’s important to read them and try to see them as objectively as possible if you want to understand the real state of the debate. Certainly, their editorial policy and choice of stories will favor their side, but I have always assumed that the reputable publications do try to adhere to basic journalistic standards when it comes to straight reporting.

So, this exchange of e-mails between a National Review reader and an investigative writer shows me once again that I have been far too trusting. Evidently NR writers proudly admit to only using Republican sources. And they admit to it with all the naive earnestness of Jimmy Olson:

In hindsight, I really could have worded that sentence better. I certainly wasn’t trying to mislead readers or skew the facts. Based on additional research I did this morning, I can see your take is correct.
As far as my heavily GOP sources go, I do write for the biggest U.S. conservative publication. No claims of fairness or objectivity here! 🙂

Thanks to Matt Stoller for the tip. Read the whole thing. It’s a fascinating exchange and a very interesting insight into the way that conservative “reporters” think. Note especially the fact that even though the reporter thinks that Doug Forrester is toast in New Jersey, he happily writes a phony, error riddled probe of Jon Corzine anyway. Just for fun, I guess.

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