Washington's Journalistic Culture

A reader laments:

By now I suppose it should not surprise me that the Iran uprising is not the main story in all media outlets. Picking up the Washington Post and reading it over breakfast has become so much a part of my routine for decades that it seriously affects my day if I do not find it when I take the dog out a little before 5AM as I get my day started in a distant suburb of Washington, DC.

I always took some pride in feeling that the Post was a newspaper with journalistic integrity, as opposed to Moonie-financed Washington Times. Now I am seriously beginning to wonder if that is true.

This morning the Iranian revolution only made the front page, below the fold, indirectly in an article about how Obama's alleged failure to provide sufficient leadership leaves an opening for Republicans. I could not help but be reminded of their coverage last year of the controversy over whether or not Obama the candidate was a Muslim, in which their understanding of journalistic ethics apparently dictated that they refrain from pointing out that any such allegations are patently false. The same ethical standards, of course, governed their coverage of the buildup to the Iraq war and adoption of torture as US government policy. Any suggestions for alternative breakfast reading?

Dan Froomkin.