The extraordinary exchanges between New York Times editor Bill Keller and reporter Judith Miller over her role in the Plame scandal and reporting on non-existent weapons of mass destruction in Iraq have suggested to me a wider context of the entire matter.
The wider context is that Rupert Murdoch*, and Richard Mellon Scaife^, and other far rightwing billionaires have deeply corrupted our information environment. They are in part responsible for what happened at the NYT.
* Columbia Journalism Review: 'Murdoch uses his diverse holdings . . . to promote his own financial interests at the expense of real news gathering, legal and regulatory rules, and journalistic ethics. He wields his media as instruments of influence with politicians who can aid him, and savages his competitors in his news columns. If ever someone demonstrated the dangers of mass power being concentrated in few hands, it would be Murdoch.
^ The total of Scaife's giving--to conservatives as well as many other beneficiaries--exceeds $600 million, or $1.4 billion in current dollars, much more than any previous estimate.
It's a sad day in America when public opinion in manipulated behind the scenes by media giants whose only interest is to further their own agendas. That is the America that the right-wing of Republican Party has unleashed. They are the closest thing we have to fascists in this country. Indeed, many of them are.
In other news on Plame gate, Empty WheelThe Next Hurrah reports:
NYT management is sacrificing Saint Judy in an attempt to hide their own complicity in the Plame Affair.
Well DUH! Honestly folks, he does a great job of laying his speculation out for all to see.
And then there Think Progress latest insight:
“Scooter†Libby first learned Plame’s identity from a conversation with Vice President Dick Cheney.
Ok, well now the big fish will fry? Ummm... We'll have to wait and see.
I swear people are so anxious waiting for the shoe to drop at Fitz's place that they are speculating about speculations. Fun, isn't it? Good news has been a long time a coming....
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