The power to choose
: Jay Rosen does a nice barbecuing of Washington Post editor Leonard Downie, Jr., as Downie tries to argue, again and again, to a Columbia Journalism Report writer that as a newspaper and as a newspaper editor, his choices do not set an agenda. That’s worse than hogwash. It’s a lie. But even worse than that, it indicates a utter lack of understanding of where the media world is going. Wake up, Len, turn on the TV and watch FoxNews. Then turn on the computer and read a blog or two. Then browse the top stories on Technorati and Blogdex. It’s all about choice and choice is all about agendas and it’s time to admit that — no, embrace that. It’s a new day for journalism, Len. It’s a conversation in which everybody has an agenda and we’re better off if everybody wears that agenda on his or her sleeve. That’s what’s happening in the future of media. Sorry it’s not happening in the past.
(By the way, as I write this, some funky code gremlin turned Jay’s content well all black and blue-on-black does not read. Just mark the text with your cursor and you’ll be able to read it.) UPDATE: Fixed.
