Sunday, November 23, 2008

In response to this Nate Silver post and this Atlantic article:

It struck me that a greater proportion of conservative blogs have the same air of paranoia about Obama, his history, his religion, and even his (presumed) cabinet appointment. Very few of these issues are looked at objectively and often positions are given without supporting evidence. When was the last time you saw a conservative blog engage in lively, spirited debate with the other side? (Note: debate in this case means a reasoned argument supported by evidence, not talking over the opponent.)

Could it come from years of conservative talk radio, which is full of personalities like this?

His eyes, which off-air are usually flat and unhappy, are alight now with passionate conviction.[...] As is SOP in political talk radio, the emotions most readily accessed are anger, outrage, indignation, fear, despair, disgust, contempt, and a certain kind of apocalyptic glee, all of which the Nick Berg thing's got in spades. [who is in turn able] to enjoy the authority and influence of journalism without the stodgy constraints of fairness, objectivity, and responsibility that make trying to tell the truth such a drag for everyone involved.

However, as with every generalization, there are exceptions to the rule. Take, for example, this fantastic article by Byron York from the DC Examiner.
One of the most interesting byproducts of this phenomenon is that now seemingly everything is both fair gain and news. Michelle Maklin is a big proponent of this sort of news

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