Woodward's Hypocrisy: "Woodwardism" --A Letter to Washington Post Ombudsman.

Letter to Deborah Howell,
Ombudsman at the Washington Post
November 21, 2005

"There ought to be clear rules. . ". For God's sake there are, and please do not pretend otherwise.

Woodward's concealment and hypocrisy
(there is no other word suitable, we should say unconscionable hypocrisy, since he is a reporter and supposedly an epitome of good journalism and supposedly a model for others), is, in fact,
a disaster
for the reputation of journalism,.
depending as it does on an expectation
of objective reporting,
by which people, the people,
the ordinary people,
have the RIGHT to the truth.
This is especially true in our current context
when we have the Bush White House
paying reporters to slant the news, and
the sad example of the New York Times
and Judith Miller, in bed with and seduced by power.

Let us say it more clearly:
Woodward has become, by his unconsionable hypocrisy (continued public criticism of the case in which he was intimately involved)
has become a
an unbelievable disaster
for the reputation of journalism.

Scolding editorials, hand-slapping
are simply not enough.
You are all still entranced by
his aura and fame, and that he
is One of Yours.

Let me put it in moral terms,
since it is a moral issue:
There is no greater mortal sin
than what Woodward has done.

He has used his reputation to
conceal, judge and even to smear
via his critical remarks about Fitzgerald.

Let history assess his career
ultimately. The Post must do what is
right for the reputation and respectability
not only of itself but for
JOURNALISM.

The honor of journalism is at stake here.

Please accept your responsibility. If you do not, this case, in the culture of corporate take over of media, and broadcast infortainment, can become a stake in the
heart of Journalism.

"Woodwardism:" Neologism: when your fame is broad, even if you are a journalist, you are entitled to excuse yourself from honesty and to publicly comment on a case in which you are secretly involved.

Context: A step in the year of 2005 in the decay of objective journalism under the Bush White House, when elite journalists, allowed to work without accountability, demonstated the corruption of public trust by their own complicit seduction and beholding to political power.
This lack of accountabity at every level accelerated the loss of public trust
in journalism.

Paschal Baute
Lexington, Ky
www.paschalbaute.com/writing/ see appropriate blog
Old Salty Dog: Politics, Morals and Culture.