Recently, the suits at Newsweek realized that reporting on week-old news was anachronistic in these days when you can get updated news online on a 24 x 7 basis, and so it has been retooled into a magazine of commentary or analysis. The skimpy advertising, dominated by ads for faux "masterpiece" jewelry and those Amish heaters, leaves doubt as to whether the new concept can make Newsweek survive, but with columns like this one from Jacob Weisberg about how Fox News flies in the face of what American journalism is supposed to be, I sure hope it does:
What's most distinctive about the American press is not its freedom but its century-old tradition of independence—that it serves the public interest rather than those of parties, persuasions, or pressure groups. Media independence is a 20th-century innovation that has never fully taken root in many other countries that do have a free press. The Australian-British-continental model of politicized media that Murdoch has applied at Fox is un-American, so much so that he has little choice but go on denying what he's doing as he does it. For Murdoch, Ailes, and company, "fair and balanced" is a necessary lie. To admit that their coverage is slanted by design would violate the American understanding of the media's role in democracy and our idea of what constitutes fair play. But it's a demonstrable deceit that no longer deserves equal time.
Whether the White House engages with Fox is a tactical political question. Whether we journalists continue to do so is an ethical one. By appearing on Fox, reporters validate its propaganda values and help to undermine the role of legitimate news organizations. Respectable journalists—I'm talking to you, Mara Liasson—should stop appearing on its programs. A boycott would make Ailes too happy, so let's try just ignoring Fox, shall we?
Amen.
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