One last point: I do hope none of this ruins my chances of succeeding Tim Russert on Meet the Press.

Anybody else remember GG being humorous (and not "these people are idiotic" scathing sarcasm)?

Back in the mid 1980s he was a pretty nice, energetic guy who ran the local runners club in Amherst, MA. His half hearted defense of the indefensible here is a warning about the dangers of becoming a flack.

The DMN is hardly a liberal rag.

They endorsed GWB twice.

And a member of their editorial board says that - - even though he's a cynic - - he still is "100 percent outraged" by NBC.

http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/12/a-cynics-view-o.html

or click sig below

Quote from NBC exec: Our relationship with General McCaffrey is based on trust, a basic tenant [sic] of journalism.

Maybe that exec meant the word he used, McCaffrey is simply one of NBC's "tenants."

--Ron

See this article on his office's behavior when he was our "War on Drugs Czar" back in 2000.

http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=324

Calderone not only plugged GG, but wrote his own article wondering if the MSM will ignore this controversy.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/michaelcalderone/1108/Will_networks_ignore_military_analyst_report.html

Link on sig as well.

Hate to say this, because I am a fan of hers, but this is a big test for Rachel Maddow. Were this any other organization but NBC, this would be right in her wheelhouse. If she stays silent about this, it will be very disappointing.

If she has already addressed it and I just missed it, then my apologies to her.

Once more, we see The Mighty Wurlitzer droning on with the conventional wisdom of influence peddlers who benefit from the direct receipt of kickback for their tireless efforts. "Journalistic integrity?" hahahaha!

For brutal objectivity, I assiduously ignore 90% of what is broadcast and written in the traditional media, and I pay attention to flawlessly credentialed critics and academics who have no axe to grind but fact and truth. But, then, my parents let me teethe on Ramparts Magazine.

Next up for spin: The weather report. Why would NBC have purchased The Weather Channel?

NBC = Never Been Candid

(and ain't never gonna be)

In the linked emails, the use of "trust" appears to mean--"if there was bad journalism here, it's McCaffrey's fault, because we trusted him". If this heats up at all and NBC starts to look bad, I imagine they will increase their volume: "It was McCaffrey's responsibility to tell us whether a conflict existed or not--we had no way of checking on this ourselves--we're just a multi-million dollar news and research company".

It does seem that they might be ready to hang separately rather than together. Maybe a bit more pressure will cause it to blow?

post. I was astonished (well, not really) at that Our relationship with General McCaffrey is based on trust, a basic tenant of journalism. The "tenant" tells us something, too, but that idea of trust is, as you rightly note, a laughably pathetic "understanding" of what journalism is supposed to be and what journalists are supposed to do.

One last point: I do hope none of this ruins my chances of succeeding Tim Russert on Meet the Press.

You wouldn't have liked that gig anyway. As I understand it, you have to bring mounds and mounds of clippings from the likes of Broder and Brooks and interview personages such as Brokaw who, in return for being so favored, would drone on and on about the greatest generation.

Good post Glenn, and thanks for documenting just how slimy NBC's behavior is. It's discouraging to see what passes for journalism today, especially for one who thinks it should be so much more.

I know you were joking, but having you or someone like you on Meet The Press would actually be a reason to watch it. Good luck getting guests though.

"trust, a basic tenant of journalism"

;)

"Bush: Iraq intelligence failure 'biggest regret'" (link @ sig)

The man is going to lie - and lie big - until the very last second of his term. Or perhaps he actually suffers from delusions.

P.S. Glenn, you have my sympathies - having been recommended for a position by someone who also recommended Greta Van Susteren must have ruined your day. ;)

It's a disease that permeates the top that includes politicians, pundits, and the press. The blogger Tanta (RIP) said it about those who wrote analysis on financial pages and I think the same can be said here:

"The rest of the time, Tanta liked to chew on the follies of regulators, the idiocies of lenders and — a particular favorite — clueless reporters, which according to her was just about all of them. She did not approve, she once wrote, of “parading one’s ignorance about mortgages in an article full of high-minded tut-tutting over ignorance about mortgages.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/business/01tanta.html?_r=1

The wagons circle and the Villager's cower behind the carcasses of their dead ideas while their gushing sycophants in the press shoot back at the DFH savages who are attacking with slings and arrows (and the pen).

that Glenn Greenwald was named to take Russert's place on meet the press. I had next Sunday all planned: a tasty gourmet breakfast with cafe con leche afterward to savor the moment of the triumph of reason in our fair nation's political journalism.

Then I woke up because my clown nose was pushing into my pillow and pinching my nostrils shut.

While this McCaffrey story should be outrageous to all Americans - it likely will resonate only with us Socialists!

That is OK though, we now have strong voices on the TV networks who will express our collective outrage. I cannot wait (or will I have to?) for Keith, Rachel and Chris - "Our Progressives" - to just bury the network that has been using McCaffrey to spread his self serving propoganda.

Keith will likely have it as his #1 story AND make Brian Williams his "worst person" for ignoring the issue. . . Rachel will probably have Glenn Greenwald as her studio guest to make sure her viewers understand just how evil that network is. . .Chris is likely planning on bringing General McCaffrey in and playing real hardball with him! . . . Set your DVR's - this will be television for the ages! . . . Or will it?