This past weekend here's what we had:
Meet the Press roundtable:
E.J. Dionne, BoBo Brooks, Mike Allen. This one at least is roughly "balanced," but Allen's a reporter while Dionne and Brooks are columnists. Confusing much?
This Week:
George Will, Fareed Zakaria, and Marth Raddatz. Will's a conservative hack, Zakaria's an honest conservative, and Raddatz is their White House correspondent. Confusing much?
Reliable Sources:
Laura Ingraham, Clarence Page, Pam Hess. Ingraham's a conservative radio host whose show is generally pretty fluffy, Page is a long time respected columnist, and Pam Hess is UPI's Pentagon correspondent. Confusing much?
Generally, "straight reporters" should not appear in the same discussions with the ideological pundits. I have no idea why producers and editors let them do so. I think it's fine when print reporters go on TV to discuss and explain stories they've written, but they shouldn't be participating in discussions with people who have much more freedom to speak outside of the model of "balanced journalism."
