Brilliant post Matt, thanks.  I'm as cranky as anyone when it comes to Big Media, but destroying them isn't in anyone's best interest.  Supporting them when they do their job well is something that we need to do, or else we're just going to have a terminally adversarial relationship with the media, and that is exactly what the Right wants.

In other news, check out Atrios--   He's got a link to a Barron's editorial that urges the Congress to take a serious look at impeachment.

Sorry Matt, I just noticed that you were way ahead of the game and had already posted the Barron's piece.

Oh well, it's so wonderful we can't possibly talk about it too much....

I don't agree.  The reporting for this story required 'access', not hard work or expense.  One or more whistleblowers had to know whom to trust, and how to reach him.  The relationship between inside sources and journalists is embedded in a set of complex social relationships about the truth.  Just because the Times occasionally (and less frequently every day, it seems) finds a way to manipulate those relationships in a way that is socially beneficial is no reason to congratulate or thank them.  The institution is congenitally corrupt.  

What's more, the Times, like most members of the establishment media, is in active opposition to MyDD and any other anti-establishment media.  How could it be otherwise?  They threaten both its wallet and its self-regard.  They will oppose your 'accountability' in every way they can.

I'm as sorry about the greedy house slave mentality of today's media as anyone, but feeling bad about it won't change anything.  Until they show more professional dedication and independence, I'll show them the skepticism they have earned.

of this topic... I was looking through the children's section of the book store for gifts for my granddaughter. She is 9 and we need an upgrade in our book selection for her age range.

I came across a section of books that caught my interest for a moment as they were on American history... and then noticed the author was Lynne Cheney.

As I wandered around I glanced at the teen section and saw "The O'Reilly Factor for Teens."

Get'm while they're young I guess. I think there are historical examples of other rightwingers trying that in the past.

I was, and am, repulsed and disgusted.

was done in that original hack job of a profile by the Washington Monthly. While correcting mistakes they had no choice but to correct is nice, it doesn't make up for the initial fuckup. It merely mitigates it.

First, the author of the piece is a total dick, consistently using pejoratives for Kos, gratuitous ones at many points that do not advance any particular story line. Just mean-spirited.

Second, the guy is seriously off on the age issue. Over 12,000 people responded to Kos's poll, median age 44 (half the respondents were over 44, half under: see mathematical analysis here).

Finally, this man seriously doesn't get it, the role of the left blogs as activist pumps and partisan warriors to offset the right wing noise machine (see critiques of Atrios and Digby).
.

While the content and ideology expressed in the liberal blogosphere may  be mainstream, I hope we never get to the point where what is printed and discussed is dependent on what advertisers want printed and discussed. One very big area that could be improved on is labor issues. My favorite innovation at TPM Cafe is The House of Labor.

A perfect example today, Anti-Unionism is the Date Rape of Corporate Crime. This is a story that will never be covered adequately by the NY Times or the LA Times. One of the most effective ways we can push a progressive agenda is by informing and educating Americans about labor and labor issues.

How about ICM? A new site I just ran across is Illiberal Conservative Media: [alternately, Insidious Corporatist Media, U.S.A.].