The Difference Between Journalism And Political Activism

That seems to be something Reuters is unaware of, to say the least.  Just read this and tell me if it sounds like advocacy free journalism:

Irish voters rejected a treaty on Friday to overhaul the European Union's unwieldy institutions, putting the entire bloc's reform plan in peril and humiliating Ireland's political leaders.

The pact, known as the Lisbon treaty, failed by a margin of 53.4 to 46.6 percent in the only EU country to put it to a popular vote.

"No" vote supporters cheered loudly for several minutes, interrupting an official as he read out the results.

Prime Minister Brian Cowen called the vote "a source of disappointment to my colleagues in government and to me."

"In a democracy, the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box is sovereign. The government accepts and respects the verdict of the Irish people."

The treaty was an effort to resurrect EU reforms that were torpedoed by French and Dutch voters in 2005.

This time all countries but Ireland avoided a referendum. The "No" vote means a country with fewer than 1 percent of the EU's 490 million population could doom a treaty painstakingly negotiated by all 27 member states.

Yeah, you stupid green loving, shamrock wearing, Guinness swilling losers.  You and all your high falutin democracy and will of the people, why don't you just do what your betters¹ tell you to do.  Oh, changing the definition of sovereignty by extra constitutional means isn't good enough for you!  You want to have a referendum.  Stupid wankers.  How dare you not vote for something that none of the other citizens of the EU were allowed to vote for either.  I know that doesn't make any sense, but I work for Reuters and am above your pay grade by far, you Jameson's guzzling, Irish speaking, boxty eating leprechauns!

1. "Betters" in this case means the politicians (and not the voters) of other nations.

Tim Russert Dead At 58

This is shocking:

Tim Russert, who pointedly but politely questioned hundreds of the powerful and influential as moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press," died Friday of an apparent heart attack. The network's Washington bureau chief was 58.

In addition to his weekly program, Russert made periodic appearances on the network's other news shows, was moderator for numerous political debates and wrote two best-selling books.

NBC interrupted its regular programming to announce Russert's death, and in the ensuing moments, familiar faces such as Tom Brokaw, Andrea Mitchell and Brian Williams took turns mourning his loss.

Williams called him "aggressively unfancy."

Russert, of Buffalo, N.Y., took the helm of the Sunday news show in December 1991 and turned it into the nation's most widely watched program of its type. His signature trait there was an unrelenting style of questioning that made some politicians reluctant to appear, yet confident that they could claim extra credibility if they survived his grilling intact.

He was also a senior vice president at NBC, and this year, Time Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Tim Russert was very, very good at what he did for a living, and in an age when many of us view television journalism with much skepticism he was a bit of a throwback to an older generation. He always seemed more blue collar than Ivy League; more kid from Buffalo than Washington insider. I always thought it was fitting that he was written into the storyline for the show Homicide, which was more "dirt under your fingernails" than flashy nonsense.

Mr. Russert used to come into my bookshop in Washington, where we would act out a little ritual. He would ask for a book which we always carried. I would check the computer only to discover that we had sold our last copy the previous day, and we wouldn't get a replacement copy for two more days. Russert would sadly shake his head and continue to browse. One time he did ask, "How do you never have what I'm looking for?" I'll admit it was uncanny.

The thing is, despite our many failings he always came back when he was in the neighborhood. He was simply a nice guy.

Damn.

R.I.P.

Crossposted at The Iconic Midwest