KING-5 political reporter Robert Mak is the latest to take the plunge from journalist to political operative, signing on as Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels' Communications Director. Recall that Seattle Times reporter Alex Fryer jumped to Mayor Nickels' team in 2007, becoming a spokesperson for the Office of Sustainability and Environment (more here).
This on the heels of the National Journal's Linda Douglass making the same media-to-politics leap, and doing so with less than ideal timing.
Of course, the likes of Chris Matthews, Tim Russert, and George Stephanopoulos all having done likewise is old new - the latter two actually having journalistic careers of some distinction (sans a thrill running up their legs).
Still, this is a troubling trend for those that like to deny the subtle left-of-center bias of the MSM. This blogger would argue it is generally not intended outside of editorial pages. Yet doesn't the not-uncommon move between the field of journalism and Democratic staffers versus the almost nonexistent converse with Republicans indicate something?
Might such bias exist because there are just so few Republicans around in the traditional media that many modern journalists simply don't recognize some of their biases, in part because they work with so few colleagues who hold seriously different political points of view?
Posted by Eric Earling at May 27, 2008 09:40 PM | Email ThisLOL. Journalists are already political operatives. The vast majority are Democrats, very left leaning, and concerned more with editorializing, omission, and selective reporting. It's endemic. When you go to journalism school, and all of your professors tell you to act and think this way, and you enter a newsroom as a cub, you have no choice but to follow along.
And this is much different from other majors. As an engineer, if a professor tells me I have to write a software algorithm one way, but I find a better way, and challenge the conventional thinking, I might create a new, highly respected and lucrative software company. But as a journalist, if I question "Hope and Change" my career ends.
A few scrupulous writers combat the overt and well proven leftist bias in journalism by maintaining a low profile, joining one of the few conservative rags, or venturing out on their own and succeed as writers, so that they can then be unbiased reporters. But the vast majority find this path too pragmatically, economically and socially difficult, and so they simply march in lock step with their newsroom peers.
Can you imagine speaking up against Obama in a newsroom? You'd be excommunicated.
Robert Mak is only making a formal change in employer, he's otherwise been only slightly less biased than the rest in his reporting. But I do applaud him for finally picking a more honest profession to practice his paid cheerleading.
Posted by: Jeff B. on May 27, 2008 10:22 PMWith the increasing use of PR people by government we get agencies like Sound Transit hiring former reporters like Lee Somerstein. A few years ago I volunteered for a friend's mother who was running for Lake Forest Park Mayor. We got some negative coverage from a reporter for the community paper, whose name was Shannon Sessions. Later I was surprised to see that she turned up as Lynnwood PD spokesperson. I'll never forget watching her on TV explain that 'nothing was finished' when undercover Lynnwood PD officers went to Asian massage places to get their jollies and then make an arrest.
Posted by: russell garrard on May 28, 2008 01:48 AM
Disgusting, all in all.
Posted by: JB on May 28, 2008 04:44 AMThe only reporter that I know of that has gone to work for a Republican politician would have to be Fox News' Tony Snow. That is the only one that I know of. if you compare that to the countless reporters that go on to work for Democrat Politicians it is quite a vast diference.
Posted by: TrueSoldier on May 28, 2008 05:52 AMAnd even though Dems run the state, there have been plenty of Republicans holding reins. In the 90's at one point we were down to only two Dem U.S. House members, and R's have had either a tie or control of the state house & senate from time to time. Statistically, there should have been more than one R name to counterbalance the 8 or 9 names from my list, which was just from the top of my head.
The reasons for the disparity are: a) the press is overwhelmingly Dem; b) what Eric calls the 'revolving door' has become a well-worn technique for big-gov't entrepeneurs. The press is just a cog in their propaganda machine. The tactic dovetails with the increasing use of ad campaigns by gov't agencies as well.
Posted by: russell garrard on May 28, 2008 10:45 AMNow that really makes financial sense!
Posted by: gs on May 28, 2008 09:30 PMBut that narrative won't match your victimhood desire, so by all means, keep complaining "the left" is where most government goes.
Back to the subject of Robert Mak, it is disappointing to lose a clear thinking, intelligent journalist who did strive to present all sides of an issue, and not operate in least-common-denominator sound bites. Disappointing to lose him to the Mayor especially.
Sad that someone with as much talent as Mak has will be used to promote Mayor McFatty's various "do as I say not as I do" agendas.