Categorical Aperitif

The real mystery is not why Bernie Goldberg backed out on someone like Howard Kurtz but why someone like Howard Kurtz continues to treat Bernie Goldberg as a respectable media critic in the first place. The die for Goldberg should have been cast back in 2002, when, among other things, the Howler caught him screaming at the New York Times for feminazi male-bashing in a story—without bothering to tell his readers that the story in question was about insects, not humans. Such an error indicates, at best, astounding incompetence as a reader and, at worst, shameless mendacity as a critic. And such convenient errors—convenient for those desperate to market the "liberal media" meme, anyway—have been multiplied over the years. What does it take to get kicked out of the mainstream media's rolodex, anyway?

Well, I guess that if Goldberg backed out because he's afraid that even a milquetoasty meme-pusher like Howard Kurtz would ask him questions he doesn't want to answer, then maybe that's a sign of progress. Always look on the bright side, nash.

// posted by nash @ 9:17 AM