The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy?
By Wyatt Earp | July 23, 2010
By now, you may know about the JournoList scandal. If not, here is the Cliffs Notes version: JournoList is/was created to be an online service designed to help reporters and journalists. In reality, it turned out to be a meeting place to discuss and promote a united liberal agenda before disseminating it through the unsuspecting public.
I know I am late to this party, but I wanted to read as much about this shameful story as I could. So far, I think the best article on the subject comes from The Weekly Standard’s Fred Barnes, one of the conservative voices the JournoList members wanted silenced:
Not to say there’s a media conspiracy, but at least to note that hundreds of journalists have gotten together, on an online listserv called JournoList, to promote liberalism and liberal politicians at the expense of traditional journalism.
JournoList contributors discussed strategies to aid Mr. Obama by deflecting the [Reverend Jeremiah Wright] controversy. They went public with a letter criticizing an ABC interview of Mr. Obama that dwelled on his association with Mr. Wright. Then, Spencer Ackerman of The Washington Independent proposed attacking Mr. Obama’s critics as racists. He wrote:
“If the right forces us all to either defend Wright or tear him down, no matter what we choose, we lose the game they’ve put upon us. Instead, take one of them—Fred Barnes, Karl Rove, who cares—and call them racists. . . . This makes them ‘sputter’ with rage, which in turn leads to overreaction and self-destruction.”
So, this proves what a lot of people have thought for a long time. That the mainstream media no longer reports the news without a certain – usually liberal – spin. Mr. Barnes sums up the scandal nicely below the fold.
I think JournoList is—or was—fundamentally different, and not simply because one of its members proposed to make palpably false accusations. As best I can tell, those involved in JournoList considered themselves part of a team. And their goal was to make sure the team won. In 2008, this was Mr. Obama’s team. More recently, the goal seems to have been to defeat the conservative team.
What was particularly pathetic about the scheme to smear Mr. Obama’s critics was labeling them as racists. The accusation has been made so frequently in recent years, without evidence to back it up, that it has little effect. It’s now the last refuge of liberal scoundrels.
How anyone can trust the mainstream media again is beyond me. I am still waiting for someone to publish a list noting every member of this cabal. If it becomes available, I’ll post it here so you ‘ll know the guilty parties involved.
Take the time to read the entire article. It casts a pretty revealing light on the members of JournoList, and shows them in all of their hateful, spite-filled glory.
UPDATE: Wikipedia has a partial list of members HERE. Most notable are CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin and Politico’s Ben Smith. That explains a lot.
Topics: Duct Tape Advisory | 14 Comments »
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:13 am
It might be easier to come up with a list of reporters who were non-members.
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:46 am
Now, now. Don’t be hasty. JournoList people were just getting together to make sure that they had all facts before releasing news to the public. They were doing their best to keep
conservativeshysterical anchors in line and to keep them from putting horrible spins on things by taking the focus off on non-news items and reporting honest, newsworthy articles and events.July 23rd, 2010 at 9:40 am
Sully – No kidding. Apparently there are over 400 members. That’s appalling, but not really shocking.
Kim – Exactly, because liberal newsies know what news is best suited for the little people, and what news they do not need to know.
July 23rd, 2010 at 10:08 am
One can use a wide brush, like so many of the JournoList members frequently do, to paint every MSM “journolist” except those working at Fox News as part of obama’s election team in ’08.
July 23rd, 2010 at 10:34 am
Sadly, the segment of the public that really needs to hear this story (self-proclaimed moderates/independents) probably won’t hear it because they’re getting their news from sources staffed by the same folks engaged in these appalling discussions (and their fellow travelers).
July 23rd, 2010 at 10:47 am
ABC, NBC and CBS wonder why fewer and fewer people are watching their respective evening news broadcasts. It never occurs to them that not everyone is a kool-aid drinker. Every month you have more and more newspapers and magazines circling the drain as people refuse to buy into their liberal bent rhetoric. My hope is the Journolist persons keep going down this libtard path until after the November elections.
July 23rd, 2010 at 11:03 am
Robert B. – And sadly, they got their wish. Obama was elected, and we’re stuck with him for at least two more years.
John D – Of course, the MSM is putting a lid on this story, too, so they are doing their best to filter the news from the little people.
MeToo – Newsweek and TIME are in trouble. I think that’s great, since they are a big part of this problem.
July 23rd, 2010 at 1:34 pm
I think John D nailed it. This is a non-scandal because our state-run news has decided not to make it so.
The disdain for the people who make the country work is especially irritating. I’d take the word of a successful farmer, tradesman, or small businessman over an ivy league “poli sci” or j-school grad in a second.
July 23rd, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Wyatt, the folks over at iOwntheWorld have a list up, in poster form. Apparently “equal opportunity” doesn’t apply in the writing world, because this group is almost all male… and lily white.
July 23rd, 2010 at 4:19 pm
I don’t think this story in and of itself is a huge shock- the only fresh and new element was that these geniuses left their names attached to a strategy that we all figured they were using anyway.
And that list includes the same genius who authored ?
July 23rd, 2010 at 10:02 pm
I heard the liberal loon Will Bunch of the Daily News was a member.
It was a pretty diverse group of about 397 white guys and 2-3 white women.
July 23rd, 2010 at 11:31 pm
They can’t even pretend to be journalists. Truth matters to real journalists.
July 24th, 2010 at 9:09 am
Dixie …and therein lies the possibility of the charge of racism deflected back onto them. Due to their lack of diversity it is obvious that they do not regard black people as capable of being good liberal journalists and thus did not trust them to be included within their ranks, except of course to carry the camera equipment.
July 24th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
BIG – Note also that there are a bunch of professors on that site. Makes you want to avoid college for your kids.
Dixie – Just like MSNBC!
Fenway – I like to know the specific tools so I can rebut them when they appear.
AJ – Wil Bunch? Wow. what a shocka!
Bob – And they were never interested in that.
Jon – And roll up the cables.