The Purging Of Froomkin

A reader writes:

I was stunnedand I mean that literally; I sat there for several seconds with my mouth hanging openby the firing of Dan Froomkin from the Post, along with Fred Hiatt’s incredibly disingenuous assertion that it had nothing to do with his political leanings. Stunned. That’s the only word for it.

Froomkin has been one of the very, very few “mainstream media” bloggers that I have read on a regular basis for the last several years. He is cogent, interesting, thoughtful, intelligent, and provides a wealth of information. He is, in short, all that so many of the Post’s other columnists are not. It is staggering that so many mediocrities regurgitating Beltway talking points keep regular gigs of high exposure, while one of the few who actually bucks the inside-the-beltway common wisdom has to hit the bricks. (Or perhaps it’s not so staggering, is it?)

The MSM is bewildered and in some cases angered by how some bloggers have shown up their eagerness to placate those in power. Froomkin had the feel of someone saying what he believed, wthout wondering what others thought. This violates Beltway convention. And so, in the end, they violated him.