Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Bill Schubart, a regular commentator for Vermont Public Radio and president of the Vermont Journalism Trust, the umbrella organization for VTDigger.org. This is the response to an earlier exchange between John Walters and Schubart, Walters: Bill Schubart vs. Straw Man — A scoreless draw and Schubart: News or opinion?
JW,
I don’t normally respond to criticism, but when it is intelligent and well written and makes well-taken points, I do.
You are correct in saying that there never was a golden age of journalism, though I would argue that there have been individual paragons of journalistic integrity and endeavor, which today are at risk for economic reasons.
I would also agree that to equate Rachel Maddow with Rush Limbaugh, which was not my intent but the clear conclusion from what I wrote, was unfair if not absurd. Maddow is and has been a journalist, though she is viewed more popularly as a liberal commentator, whereas Limbaugh is little more than a showman with no regard for truth or facts. I should have been called on this and you were right to do so as did others.
You are likewise correct about Liebling, though he began as a journalist, whereas Maddow, I believe, began as a radio pundit in Connecticut.
You also note with some justification the paranoia-induced editorial effort to constantly balance one side with the other, avoiding any useful conclusion and relying on the same topical authorities or “opinionators” as the NY Times calls them. The right simply announced that the principal news organizations “of record” are all left wing,so many anxious editors overcorrected.
None of this makes liberal news any better than conservative news.
Just a note to thank you for your thoughtful and very well-written parry.
Bill Schubart
