. . . righteous takedown of the Houston Chronicle for journalistic malpractice in its coverage of Rick Perry's legal triumph yesterday.
The Travis County district attorney's had charged that Mr. Perry, as governor, abused his power when he threatened to veto funds for, yes, the Travis County district attorney's office.
The highest Texas criminal appeals court ruled yesterday that the charge violates separation of powers under the Texas Constitution.
The Chronicle reports the decision in a story notable for its bitter tone, its elementary and unjustifiable failure to report the legal basis of the ruling high in the story, its overloading the story with nasty quotations from the losers in the Travis County district attorney's office, from the judicial dissents, and from bystanders who share the newspaper's disdain for Mr. Perry. Tune in later. Maybe tomorrow.
To tide you over, consider this ugly piece of work from a color story this morning about . . .
. . . how a college student, Matt Wiltshire -- presumably from the University of Houston, though the story never says (though a cutline does) -- was standing in for Donald Trump in CNN debate rehearsals, even though the young man lacks "the mysterious coiffure, orange-bronze skin tones [and] demagogic politics of the candidate."
A real newspaper hires reporters and editors who know better than to seed any story, let alone a throwaway color story, with such open and unashamed mockery of a disfavored (by the reporter and newspaper) presidential candidate. One should not need to say, but does, apparently: This is opinion writing, not reporting.
A real newspaper might refer in a neutral way to the candidate's "distinctive" hairstyle and skin tone. A real newspaper might quote someone else calling Mr. Trump's politics "demagogic," but would never, never, never do so in its own reportial voice.
A demagogue, says a good online definition, is "a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument." Synonyms are "rabble-rouser" and "agitator."
Is Mr. Tump a demagogue? An agitator? His adversaries are entitled to say yes (and be quoted by the newspaper). The newspaper's opinion writers -- columnists, editorial writers, cartoonists -- are entitled to say yes. I am entitled to say yes and, for the record, do.
But Mr. Mark Collette, reporter, and the Houston Chronicle, in its reportorial voice, are not entitled to say this. Period.
The hair-skin-politics jokes violate the implicit promise that traditional newspaper reporting is fair, even-handed, dispassionate. At the Houston Chronicle, these values are apparently no longer enforced. It is more important to insult Mr. Trump and, implicitly, those who support him than to play fair.
How can this sort of thing be stopped? Easy. First fire Mr. Collette, then fire his editor. Nothing else will do. The firings should happen today. Then, I guarantee, tomorrow's would be a better newspaper.
(Mark Collette, "At UH, a calmer, younger Trump," Houston Chronicle, February 25, 2016, page B1)
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