random news and thoughts

So, I wrote a letter to Jeff Gannon, the Talon News/GOPUSA correspondent at the White House who resigned after Kos and the gang went after him for being a Bush plant in the briefing room. While I thought his questions were sarcastic, partisan, and sometimes just plain unnecessary, I was respectful to him, pointed out how he could have been a better example and offered him advice on how to conduct oneself as a journalist. I also empathized with the threats and harassment he's recieved.

While Mr. Gannon should not have been in the briefing room given the nature of his questioning, I think that Kos and the others who went personal on him were being somewhat out of line. It's perfectly fine to question his professionalism or lack thereof, but his family and personal life should be off limits. Reporters aren't really public personalities. If he set up gay porn sites several years ago, it makes him a hypocrite, perhaps (this depends on your point of view), but it really has no bearing on his professional work, such as it is. If he was a web developer before becoming a conservative writer, the two aren't linked. They are wholly separate professions.

My Super Bowl/FCC roundup will happen, probably next Sunday. I have had a new work project take up much of my time, preventing me from doing the proper research, so hang tight.

More to come in the next post.