"Now, Mediocrity Sells, and Bigotry is Big Box Office"

Deacon Greg Kandra is weighing in strongly on Jamie Stiehm’s anti-Catholic hit piece in the January 7th edition of U.S. News & World Report, a hit piece they've since decided to defend:

Beyond weak, this is cowardly. They take no responsibility for the offense generated by the piece, or the inherent bigotry it invokes. They seem unfazed that their once-esteemed publication has become a platform for hate speech. It’s our problem, I guess, not theirs.

Once, credible news media felt a moral obligation to inform, educate, expose and illuminate. Sometimes, they did it with courage. Occasionally, it gave rise to greatness.

Now, mediocrity sells, and bigotry is big box office. That sound you hear is journalistic standards, going down the drain. (Does U.S. News even have a standards & practices guide? Does anyone care?)

For reference, the staff might want to take a gander at the Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual, which has this to say about fair comment (from Hoeppner v. Dunkirk Pr. Co.):

“Everyone has a right to comment on matters of public interest and concern, provided they do so fairly and with an honest purpose. Such comments or criticism are not libelous, however severe in their terms, unless they are written maliciously.”

Malice, it seems, is in the eye of the beholder.

I would just add this: where do they draw the line? At what point does “fair comment” become, in their eyes, unfair? When do they say “Enough”?

As part of the U.S. News & World Report editorial policy, it is clearly acceptable for a writer on their site to denigrate, insult, and mock an entire class of people, purely because of their religion. 

How much further do they intend to go?

He goes on to chronicle something Time did and how they responded after a backlash. 

Check it out.

My hope is that in the coming days, progressives with integrity will come out strongly to condemn US News & World Report and their editorial policies.

I won't however be holding my breath.