Ah, Unity... or So We Thought

One of our few loyal readers lets me know that we weren't the only folks who noticed so-called journalists waving the pom-poms for John Kerry last week at the "Unity" rally, as noted in Thursday's Kerry Post of the Day. Editor and Publisher Magazine had this to say:

John Temple, editor of the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, praised the meeting overall and said he was "inspired" by it -- but noted in a column that the partisanship (evidenced by "cheering and whistling" during Kerry's speech) was "something I had never experienced in a crowd of journalists."

Helen Ubinas, another attendee, wrote in The Hartford (Conn.) Courant that she was "in the minority, as it were" who acted like "a professional, not a partisan" in responding to Kerry. There was snickering during Bush's address and the crowd rose at the end, "but not for much longer than it took to head to the door." Ubinas' explanation: Kerry connects with the "advocacy side" of Unity journalists. But showing preference for one candidate, she added, "is the ultimate betrayal -- to everyone."

Akilah Johnson, a reporter at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Delray Beach, Fla., told USA Today, "It was a little awkward for me. I guess a lot of people were acting like citizens, not reporters." Unity President Ernest Sotomayer pointed out that many Unity members, including those who were covering the event or planned to report on it later, did not cheer. Those who did, he said, are "people who vote, and they have a right to express themselves" when they're not working.

But Seattle Times reporter Florangelea Davila told her paper, "It was so offensive
and awful, and I hated it. It was clearly inappropriate. It was ridiculous." Houston Chronicle Suburban Editor Pete McConnell said he was "embarrassed" by the crowd reactions to Bush and Kerry: "As a group we should have kept ourselves in check."

You know, most of the those adjectives, like "offensive", "ridiculous", "awkward" and "awful", would apply to the New York Times. Jokes aside, it's good to see that some journalists who would normally spend time bashing Fox News for a lack of objectivity realize their own limitations.