I would like to personally thank Glenn Greenwald for posting John King's email about a John McCain interview. By publishing it in its entirety, we can see the delusional grandstanding that "journalists" like King imagine themselves to be. At the same time, they like to belittle anyone that critiques them for things like...I don't know, fawning over candidates and letting them stick giant loads of bullshit up their ass. King isn't alone, many cable news whores are guilty of it, but the email gives a good look at the people in that industry.
From Salon:
Yesterday, I received a response from King via e-mail, the authenticity of which was confirmed in a subsequent exchange:
From: King, John CTo: GGreenwald@salon.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 5:40 PM
Subject: excuse me?
I don't read biased uninformed drivel so I'm a little late to the game.
But a friend who understands how my business works and knows a little something about my 20 plus years in it sent me the link to your ramblings.
Since the site suggests you have law training, maybe you forgot that good lawyers to a little research before they spit out words.
Oh trust me, it goes on and on, belittling Glenn for not reading up and doing his homework, blah, blah, f'in blah. Any of these buffoons can whine about how they are professionals and bloggers are just scum of the Earth (on both sides of the political spectrum) who just like to rant about people who supposedly are unbiased reporters. Well Glenn obliterates that argument:
They invariably point to criticisms from both Left and Right as proof that they're unbiased straight-shooters. They chide you for being unaware of the secret, concealed information (interview questions that weren't broadcast, paragraphs that were edited out) which somehow disproves your critique of what they did broadcast or publish.
They proudly inform you that there have, indeed, been some instances over the many decades that they've been working when they've stood up to someone and asked something other than mindlessly reverent questions, and if you had looked hard enough, you might have found a couple. They tell you it's appalling to comment on what they publish to their readers or viewers without first talking to them about it, even though you linked to or even printed in full everything they said and wrote. And they close by telling you that you have no standards, no ethics, no understanding of their Complex Profession, and no decency -- that you're just a shrill, ignorant partisan pushing a lowly agenda while they are in the business of Real Unvarnished, Objective Reporting.
Ponder how much better things would be if establishment journalists -- in response to being endlessly lied to and manipulated by political officials and upon witnessing extreme lawbreaking and corruption at the highest levels of our government -- were able to muster just a tiny fraction of the high dudgeon, petulant offense, and melodramatic outrage that comes pouring forth whenever their "reporting" is criticized. All this energized invective from King because CNN aired an "interview" with the GOP front-running presidential candidate consisting of one adoring question after the next, which I printed in full.
That is the problem, they are beyond manipulated by the politicians in Washington. By sucking up to people like McCain they ultimately forget the people they are supposed to be serving, the viewers. When so-called journalists like King ask pathetic non-invasive questions of McCain and others, the freedom of Americans who tune in suffers by limiting their access to things they want to know that are essential to their day to day lives.
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