[highwater]

I imagine this faux fairness is driven by the desire to appeal to as broad a base as possible in order to sell more papers. Ironically, all they've done is devalue themselves as a credible source of objective information, make people cynical about the profession of journalism in general, and force their more demanding readers (who would otherwise be their strongest supporters) to look elsewhere for information. Afterall, when all statements and ideas are treated as equal, and no one dares to give us any guide posts, the info barrage just becomes so much white noise and you tune out.

I realize there are market forces at work, but sometimes I wonder if alot of this crap doesn't come down to intellectual laziness on the part of journalists (and editors) themselves. Or maybe there aren't enough editors anymore to nip this type of BS in the bud. Either way, I think our journalism schools have alot to answer for.