Can anyone be shocked at this point?

Unbridled careerism is so commonplace in American “journalism” as to be taken for granted. As usual, the corporate values of “me first, and to hell with everybody else”, defeat the profession’s mission to buttress democracy through the presentation of truth.

By David Sirota

Double-dealing Richard Wolffe's frequent appearances on Countdown reflect poorly on Keith Olbermann's claims to political dependability.

No matter how much this week’s Pulitzer Prize triumphalism hides it, the fact remains that journalism these days is “a disaster,” as Ted Koppel said recently. And unfortunately, retrospection dominates the news industry’s self-analysis. Like dazed tornado victims, most media experts focus on what happened and why, oh lord, why?

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“The oozing conflicts lead to things like a glowing New Yorker profile of (Obama aide) Rahm Emanuel followed by an even more one-sided love letter to (Obama aide) Larry Summers, both from Lizza,” says Salon.com’s Glenn Greenwald. “It’s what causes Alter to proclaim one day – when Obama favored it – that real health reform ‘depends on whether Obama gets approval for a public option’ only to turn around – once Obama said (the public option) was unnecessary – and proclaim that the left is foolishly obsessing on the unimportant public option. And it’s what leads Todd, in the form of ‘covering the White House’ for NBC, to serve as an amplifying vessel and justifier for whatever the White House happens to be saying.”

Arrogant Rahm Emanuel, whose nefarious influence has cost the nation dearly, is often given fawning treatment by media "professionals." The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza has been notorious in this regard.