This Gun Not For Hire
Retired Col. Ken Allard has quit his post as an NBC military analyst because NBC has retained its anti-military analyst, WaPo online hack Bill Arkin. Allard on his decision:Â
In case you missed it, Arkin characterized U.S. soldiers as “mercenaries” enjoying “obscene amenities” shipped into the war zone — pampered hirelings who then complain about declining public support for the war effort.
… has anyone else noticed the network’s precipitous retreat from journalistic and ethical standards? Not only were no apologies given and no pink slips issued for Arkin’s outburst, but on his MSNBC show last week, Keith Olberman went out of his way to defend this “valid criticism” of our military.
In January, Conan O’Brien was allowed to escape without apology after airing a particularly tasteless gay skit deriding Christianity: “Oh, Jesus, I love you, but only as a friend.” (Just try doing that sometime using Mohammad’s name!)
And only this week, questions have been raised about the cozy relationships between CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo and the companies she covers as a supposedly objective journalist. The response by Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE and godfather of the NBC family: “Substantially, I don’t think she did anything wrong.”
… sometimes the only way to show where you really stand is to vote with your feet. And so with great reluctance and best wishes to my former colleagues, with this column I am severing my 10-year relationship with NBC News.
Read the whole thing here.
Topics: media
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 12:07 am on Friday, February 16, 2007
4 Responses to “This Gun Not For Hire”
Leave a Reply
Trackback URLYou must be logged in to post a comment.
February 16th, 2007 at 12:26 am
Eventually, the only “warheads” working for the MSM will be of the same sort of military expert as Wes Clarke.
The pity of the matter is, I can’t tell if that’s a good thing, or a bad thing.
February 16th, 2007 at 12:49 am
I’m glad to see someone taking a principled stand. My disgust over Arkin has been about to set as concrete in my heart as I read and listened to the pure cynical hatred spew forth from the “pros,” who did so spew safe in the knowledge that they could get away with it without personal consequence. I’m not sure which was worse: that these people are so hateful, or that they are so without limits (or shame).
February 16th, 2007 at 1:43 am
This Gun Not For Hire
Arkin fallout: Col. Ken Allard quits NBC in disgust Allahpundit Not just over Arkin — bad taste, dubious ethics, and NBC’s general accelerating crappiness are also cited — but it’s Arkin’s hit job on the military that seems to stick
February 16th, 2007 at 11:14 am
Web Reconnaissance for 02/16/2007
A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention.