Van Jones and the Media

I'd describe Byron York as a conservative reporter. His opinions are very well researched, and he rarely uses stereotyping or anger. Here is an excellent take on the media and Van Jones -- and the media and conservatives in general.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Why-did-the-press-ignore-the-Van-Jones-scandal_-8210602-57658222.html

This idea he notes -- that it's really about denying the "bad guys" a victory -- resonates. When the right-wing echo machine actually finds something of weight -- and I think they did with Jones -- the editors of these papers probably can see the news value of what's been found, but they are reluctant to aid an abet sources that they feel on balance do harm to the debate.

From a pure journalistic standpoint, that's crap. They are obligated to report the story and let us decide. That's their role in a democracy. But even getting past that, what rankles me most is that it's not consistent. Example: There's a Republican candidate for governor of Virginia who (From the Washington Post): "submitted a master's thesis to the evangelical school he was attending in Virginia Beach in which he described working women and feminists as "detrimental" to the family. He said government policy should favor married couples over "cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators." He described as "illogical" a 1972 Supreme Court decision legalizing the use of contraception by unmarried couples."

Yucky, right? But this guy has been in politics for many years now, and there's no evidence that this set of views has had any effect on his policymaking. Yet it has been on the front page of the Washington Post several times now.

The pattern is consistent:

Conservative says yucky social conservative stuff in 1989: Big news!! Must be defeated!!

Obama says in 2003 (for example) that he favors "single payer" health insurance: Old news!! Not worth reporting!!

Each man has the right to his opinions. In both cases, those opinions should be aired and discussed. Yet one gets a series of page 1 stories and the other gets a quick "Pshaw!"