Friday, January 14, 2011

"Editing" Big Journalism

So how's Dana Loesch doing in her role as "editor" of Breitbart's Big Journalism site? Apparently, not very well:
Yesterday at Breitbart's BigJournalism, Jeff Dunetz served up yet another badly premised, nigh unreadable piece on the many outrageous evils of the "progressive media," which on its own is hardly worth mentioning. But there was one passage in Dunetz's sloppy harangue that indicates the high level of unseriousness we're dealing with here:
Israel is a favorite target of the progressive mainstream media. For example the New York Times,Washington Post and LA Times are famous for their anti-Israel bias. To mix things up a bit, they can blame the Jews too. Progressive media are famous for their attacks on Jews also. MSNBC commentator Pat Buchanan, for example, is a Holocaust revisionist who opposed did not support the Kagan nomination because it would put too many Jews on the Supreme Court (he also complained that there were too many Jews in the Senate).
Media Matters goes on to point out that Buchanen worked for three Republican presidents, ran for President as a Republican, and founded The American Conservative. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it the editor's job to make sure that nonsensical garbage like this doesn't get posted? I mean, I know that the Breitbart sites primarily trade on nonsensical garbage, but even brainwashed tea partiers would know that the claim about Buchanen is false.

h/t Eric Boehlert

2 comments:

  1. It's easy to edit Big Journalism when you have a copy of their checklist.

    1) use of hyperbole
    2) fact-checking not allowed
    3) no citation of any source
    4) cross-posting to Hoft, Sharp, Hennessy as
    validation
    5) quote Reagan
    6) out-of-context quotes from any progressive
    7) "Democrat" used as descriptor e.g. "Democrat
    party"
    8) set up straw man argument
    9) use of false equivalency
    10)ad hominem attack
    11)Blame President Obama - for anything
    12)defend Palin at all costs
    13)9/11
    14)kiss Rush's ring
    15)call a Memorial Service an Obama pep rally
    16)scrub site
    17)never apologize in an "update"
    18)never "update"

    I'll post pages 2-5 when I get the fax or pdf file.

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  2. Catching such obvious misstatements of fact would seem to be an important aspect of an editor's job, but shouldn't he/she also do something about the generally confused and awkward prose?

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