I know, I know. The headline is politically incorrect. No journalists were actually hurt in the filming of Chris Wallace’s Sunday morning interview with President Trump, but you had to enjoy the president standing his ground against Wallace’s biased questioning.
In particular Wallace stubbornly insisted on distorting the president’s attack on #FakeNews as “the enemy of the people.” Wallace wrongly claimed that an attack on Fake News was an attack on real news and implied that all journalists had to defend each other, but the president very clearly fought back and distinguished between Fake News and the real thing.
Chris, you are part of the problem. There is no more an obligation for all journalists to defend each other than for all soldiers to defend each other. When someone violates their ethical obligations, the correct response is to call them out for it — not to circle the wagons and protect them from criticism.
My column on Jim Acosta and what I am calling the trap of “celebrity journalism” comes out on Monday at www.realclearpolitics.com. Read it there or check back here on Monday! Real journalists hold each other accountable when they overstep the bounds of decency. End pack journalism now!
