Fired Reporter And Journalistic Standards

A Washington Post reporter/slash opinion writer (or whatever is the best description of a blogger who was hired to do reporting and sometimes give a less than straight-as-an-arrow view of the news) was fired because of some private, snarky off-the-record comments about conservatives on a site for a group of liberal-leaning columnists. Those involved with the site say it is essentially a chat room of like-minded folks -- they banter back and forth about sports and help each other find sources -- while critics say the site was bad because it could create like-minded thinking, or something more sinister. I won't touch that part because I know next to nothing about that site or the group. Here's the interesting thing to me: Some of the high-profile conservatives who followed the reporter thought he was conservative or libertarian -- and really respected his work as being fair and accurate. Of course there are some who think you are only fair when you write precisely what they want you to write, but this is another example of what I've been saying about equating someone's voting record, or preferences, with their work. It is often an unfair and inaccurate way to view journalists, who should be judged by their work, not by their political leanings.