... hired and paid by a TV station is only going to be used if he toes the company line regarding the line to be followed in his particular area of knowledge.

To that extent no "analyst" is really independent, which seems unfair, but then viewer know perfectly well, or should know, that network new shows are just propaganda broadcasts.

This travesty of "journalism" calls to mind the words of Dwight Eisenhower in his farewell speech:

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

"We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together."

And when huge media conglomerates, themselves a part of this same vast establishment, eliminate the very possibility of an "alert and knowedgeable citizenry," then long and bloody wars of aggression can be waged on blatant lies, and the "citizenry" will never be the wiser.

...and Tom Brokaw despise bloggers so much.

http://tinyurl.com/6y9hoe

http://tinyurl.com/2xryda

Truth to power, Glenn. Onward and upward.

in my opinion, is how it completely misunderstands the notion of "conflict of interest."

They claim -- bizarrely -- that they are exonerated by the lack of proof of correlation between McCaffrey's statements and his business interests, thereby implying that the burden of proof lies with those who suggest that a conflict of interest exists. This is 100% backwards. The appearance of a conflict of interest is there by virtue of the fact that McCaffrey earns money in the same field in which he offers his "expert" opinion. The burden of proof is entirely on NBC to demonstrate that the conflict does not influence McCaffrey's on-air statements. And at the very least, NBC must disclose the apparent conflict to its viewers. It's all well and good for NBC to abide by its supposed journalistic tenet of trusting its sources, but it has an obligation not to force its viewers to share that trust.

What McCaffrey has actually said on the air is important, but it is completely irrelevant in the question of whether NBC needs to publicly address the appearance of a conflict of interest. Anybody with the slightest understanding of what a conflict of interest means would understand that, but clearly NBC does not.

Glad you are staying on this story, Glenn. NBC's public responses have been disingenuous, at best, and it is well past time for them to be called to account for themselves.

Thank you for your tenacity.

sysprog - the DMN blog!? Are you local DFW, or am I even more impressed by the depths of your immersion in the toobz?

Pierre - it all depends on your sense of humor. I find plenty of Greenwaldian LOL moments. Literally LOL. Sadly, those are terribly outnumbered by the GIHs (Greenwald induced headaches). But I'm a glutton for punishment.

McCaffrey is certainly a "tenant" of NBC -- only like the maintenance guy in an apartment complex, he gets free rent plus pay as long as he serves NBC's interests.

(We all have our pet peeves, but I have long considered mistaking "tenant" for "tenet" a hallmark of illiteracy.)

Glenn, this has been some outstanding investigative journalism. Even if I am concerned you do not sufficiently trust government representatives, as the Big Players do. ;)

I think what they're saying there is that they're just renting "journalism," they're not convinced it's time to buy yet.

establishing a man's integrity based on past accomplishments rather than current endeavors, appeals to authority, wilfull avoidance of issues/conflicts even when clearly outlined, "poor us" rejoinders, the "we're serious journalists who trust our sources rather than investigate the merits of the information" (hello NBC, Judith Miller ring a bell) . . . this is straight out of the playbook--you continually repeat the same big lies long and loud enough pretty soon it becomes conventional wisdom. Journalism, pretty boy Williams, and NBC clearly shouldn't be written in the same sentence. Brian Williams, NBC, and a program taxpayer subsidized Pentagon propagandists should always be. Why isn't this a violation of domestic law again?

Will the mysterious McCaffery PR guy be making an appearance anytime soon? I'd enjoy watching him get raked over the coals. Almost as entertaining as Zoloft Dingleberry's recent posts. GG getting tapped for Meet the Press would mean buying a TV again, which I don't really care to do, bringing the number of actual critical thinkers on network "news" to approximately 4. Not great but a start. Would they make GG wear a suit sans the Chuck Taylor's? Thought I saw him going old school on the video in Minneapolis if memory serves. Good look Armani suit with lowtop CT's (black leather ones of course). Might make old man Broder's head explode which would be entertaining as well.

Wow, Glenn really appears to be the only one engaging in real journalism here. That's fantastic that he came up with copies of the internal emails: those sorts of things only get leaked to real journalists, don't you know?

Aside to bamage: I really hope sysprog doesn't answer your question, because I've always suspected that, somehow, sysprog lives in the toobz and we occasionally are allowed to peek in on what that immersion means through the letters posted.

Thanks for those links.

My favorite part from Tom "they are truly America's greatest generation--have I ever mentioned that" Brokaw was this:

...it’s what they read in blog sites, and what they see in video games. It’s that kind of stuff that I think is cancerous. And I’m a free speech absolutist, but ....

Guess not. And I say this as someone sitting in a bathrobe in a basement apartment in the Bronx which is, I think, a prerequisite for writing, reading of responding to cancerous blogs.