By Roger Aronoff ——Bio and Archives--December 27, 2013
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“I cannot imagine a more ‘indiscriminate’ and ‘arbitrary invasion’ than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every single citizen for purposes of querying and analyzing it without prior judicial approval. Surely such a program infringes on ‘that degree of privacy’ that the founders enshrined in the Fourth Amendment.”Leon went on to call the program “almost-Orwellian technology.”
I think that’s ludicrous, is what I say to that. Every journalist has an agenda. We’re on MSNBC now, where close to 24 hours a day the agenda of President Obama and the Democratic Party are promoted, defended, glorified. The agenda of the Republican Party is undermined. That doesn’t mean the people on MSNBC aren’t journalists, they are. I think every journalist has a viewpoint. My viewpoint is clear. I don’t hide it. I think what Edward Snowden did was very admirable and heroic, but at the same time the ultimate test of a journalist is, is what you publish accurate and reliable? And I think with regard to every story we published over the last six months, there hasn’t been a single correction made to any of them, very few called into question. And I think that’s the ultimate question when it comes to journalism.Welker, as The Daily Caller pointed out, appeared flustered. She said, “the point is not so much about MSNBC,” but that Greenwald’s defense of Snowden’s actions may “cross a line.” “Sure, I do defend him,” Greenwald snarked back, “just like people on MSNBC defend President Obama and his officials and Democratic Party leaders 24 hours a day.” “Not everyone on MSNBC does that 24 hours a day,” Welker sulked (emphasis added). “No, not everybody,” Greenwald laughed. “But a lot—a LOT—of people on MSNBC do.” That’s her defense? “Not everyone on MSNBC does that 24 hours a day.” Would she dare name names? Who are the faithless on the network who don’t do that 24 hours a day? And how many hours a day do they do that? She had committed the unpardonable, a Washington gaffe, defined for modern pop and political culture by journalist Michael Kinsley as “when a politician tells the truth—some obvious truth he isn’t supposed to say.” Okay, Welker is not a politician, per se. She just plays one on TV, like nearly all of the NBC / MSNBC hosts, news readers, and actual journalists. Greenwald sounded like Accuracy in Media when he pointed out that the journalists of MSNBC “defend President Obama and his officials and Democratic Party leaders 24 hours a day.” And Welker inadvertently acknowledged that he is mostly correct. Okay, it’s not “24 hours a day,” and it’s “not everyone on MSNBC.” But you get the picture.
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Roger Aronoff is a member of Citizens Commission on National Security. Roger is the writer/director of Confronting Iraq: Conflict and Hope