Mark Halperin on Journalism

I have no idea how much money Mark Halperin makes.

But I do know this: paid journalists are paid by somebody. And in most cases, the way that newspapers, TV, radio, and magazines make money is through ad buys.

And the ads don't have to be journalistically valid or accurate. Ads can lie. Ads can intentionally mislead or stretch the truth.

When we're honest, we know that every decision to put something into writing is a decision NOT to say something else. And it's often what's left unsaid - what's denied, distorted, or hidden - that is most important.

This makes it easier for absolutists or fundamentalists or ideologues to refuse to hear anything that refutes their viewpoint. The problem with Americans' decision making isn't a lack of information - the truth is out there and the information is available.

We have American military and CIA committing acts of torture - but then covering it up. We have pundits and PR firms working for millions of dollars, who spend every day telling Americans that they shouldn't believe their "lying eyes" - and that evidence of injustice is inaccurate.

When paid journalists are paid to distort, or to create a "preferred reality", our politics suffer. The willingness of our media to "go along" with distortions is a problem.

And while I agree that Mark Halperin and other paid journalists provide valuable services, I also think that the group Halperin derisively refers to as "kids with Cheetos" provide a valuable service. People who don't get paid are helping to document their experience and enrich our lives. They're not paid by Time Magazine or Fox News or NBC, but they are valuable.

A group of progressive bloggers in Tennessee are running laps around the paid media these days. They're committed because they believe in empowering people with the truth. And they're committed to confronting the broken-down empty promises of both sides of the political aisle, in order to help our nation grow stronger.

They're committed to Democracy. They're committed to equal protection under the law. They're committed to fighting injustice and inequality that keeps the poor poor. They're committed to telling the truth which is covered over by power brokers.

And that's what freedom of the press is all about. The guy eating Cheetos has just as much validity and just as much right to share his experience as the guy on national television. (In fact, I would suggest more validity than the guy on national television, because Cheeto-guy isn't getting paid by advertisers.)