A journalist’s job is always to inform the powerless about that which the powerful would rather keep secret. If objectivity is the gold standard, then we must associate that word with fairness, honesty, and an acute sense of injustice — and not an all-encompassing and spurious right of reply designed to protect reporters and their news organizations from powerful interests and their own governments.

The Post's Michael Getler thinks the answer lies in reporting as thoroughly and fairly as possible and letting the readers judge the truth. That approach would have more to commend it if the mainstream media were as thorough as Getler says it should be, but the experiences described above are evidence that reporters are often content to report propoganda, maybe eliciting a quick denial or response from the other side for "balance," while failing to investigate the truth of the propoganda before reporting it.

The fact that Doyle doesn't pull his punches -- "the mainstream American press is often spineless in the face of government bullying, terrified of getting on the wrong side of public opinion, and thus was cheerleading from the sidelines as the nation charged into war" -- makes this timely debate a fun read. More importantly, it addresses serious questions about the mainstream media's approach to journalism.