Elite news editors shrug at their reporters' highly politicized activities -- from AIDS fund-raisers to pro-abortion rallies, environmental propaganda and unhinged Bush-bashing (new case in point: New York Times reporter Linda Greenhouse's recent moonbatty screed at Harvard University assailing everything from Gitmo to the Mexican-U.S. border fence). But wear a flag pin? Heresy!
When The New York Times blabs classified information about terrorism investigations and is reported to have tipped off FBI investigations of terror charity front groups, ethics mavens yawn. But when Fox News anchor Chris Wallace dares to broach President Clinton's war on terror failures, the mainstream media caterwauling crescendos. When Wallace is derided as a "monkey" for doing his job and Fox News head Roger Ailes' weight is mocked, the civility police in our journalism schools shut their eyes and ears.
When insipid New York Times columnists recycle mediocre columns into their umpteenth books, they score multiple book reviews and fawning magazine covers. When the No. 1 cable talk show host tops the best-seller list (again), crickets chirp. Bill O'Reilly's latest book, "Culture Warrior," is as much O'Reilly's story of success as it is Fox News Channel's. O'Reilly's fight against America-snubbing "secular progressives" is also Roger Ailes'. When The New York Times disparaged O'Reilly's war on the war on Christmas as a manufactured hoax, it was disparaging Fox News Channel's decision to listen to its audience -- and respond.
The liberal media's 10-year allergic reaction to Fox News is triggered by any remotely positive exposure to American values on American airwaves. Well, here's to the next 10 years of giving establishment journalism the hives. Keep Old Glory flying high. It's driving Ted Turner mad.