Atrios writes of establishment media reaction to Wikileaks:
It isn’t exactly the same thing, but moments like this I’m reminded of a time years ago when I was talking at a conference about internets and stuff to a not entirely plugged in audience and a man stood up and said something like, “You mean, people can just say whatever they want on the internet? Don’t we need to do something about that?”
I think the Moore Awards/Hewitt Awards etc. that John rightly mocked come from the same place, they’re about deciding who should and who shouldn’t be taken seriously. It’s a way of maintaining status, a way of differentiating “serious” bloggers like those at the Atlantic from the vituperative, foul-mouthed masses. When you take into consideration that the Atlantic is essentially a neocon millionaire’s vanity project (and that Sullivan got his start at another neocon millionaire’s vanity project), this all starts to look pretty sinister.
Likewise, the establishment journalists who attack Wikileaks mostly work for media outfits that are owned by large companies that have their own interest in controlling dialogue. And of course these journalists are also interested in maintaining their own status and turf (which is inextricably linked with that of the companies they work for).
Shouting down outsiders with a large corporate megaphone should not be considered a honorable journalistic enterprise, not in my opinion.
Update. This isn’t about right/left. I’d prefer Erick Erickson not be shouted down either. I wouldn’t give him a CNN gig, but I support his right to be heard at RedState and I generally find him much less frightening than Bill Kristol (I read RedState and I find it silly and sometimes offensive but mostly not that bad).