{"id":997,"date":"2009-06-19T11:07:34","date_gmt":"2009-06-19T16:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?p=997"},"modified":"2009-06-19T11:17:23","modified_gmt":"2009-06-19T16:17:23","slug":"washington-post-dumps-best-columnist-froomkin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/19\/washington-post-dumps-best-columnist-froomkin\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Post Dumps Best Columnist &#8211; Froomkin"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Washington Post yesterday terminated the &#8220;White House Watch&#8221; column written by Dan Froomkin.  Froomkin did far better and more courageous coverage of the torture scandal than did any other Post columnist or editorial writer. (Washington Post cartoonist Tom Toles also did magnificent work on this score).  Froomkin was off to a strong start on the Obama administraiton, highlighting the new president&#8217;s hypocrisy and abandonment of principles.  A pink slip was Froomkin&#8217;s reward.<\/p>\n<p>Froomkin recognized that <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.niemanwatchdog.org\/?p=53\">cravenness<\/a> is destroying the newspaper and media businesses:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;If mainstream-media political journalists don\u2019t start calling bullshit more often, then we do risk losing our primacy \u2014 if not to the comedians then to the bloggers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I still believe that no one is fundamentally more capable of first-rate bullshit-calling than a well-informed beat reporter &#8211; whatever their beat. We just need to get the editors, or the corporate culture, or the self-censorship \u2013 or whatever it is \u2013 out of the way&#8221; <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Apparently, as long as top Washington Post editors can keep reaping the rewards of publishing BS, that is all that matters.   And Washington Post honchos will no longer need to worry about complaints from The Powers That Be about Froomkin pointing out their lies and betrayals. <\/p>\n<p>Glenn Greenwald has an excellent column on Froomkin&#8217;s firing <a href=\"http:\/\/www.salon.com\/opinion\/greenwald\/2009\/06\/19\/washpost\/\">here<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Washington Post yesterday terminated the &#8220;White House Watch&#8221; column written by Dan Froomkin. Froomkin did far better and more courageous coverage of the torture scandal than did any other Post columnist or editorial writer. (Washington Post cartoonist Tom Toles also did magnificent work on this score). Froomkin was off to a strong start on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Washington Post Dumps Best Columnist - Froomkin - James Bovard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/19\/washington-post-dumps-best-columnist-froomkin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Washington Post Dumps Best Columnist - Froomkin - James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Washington Post yesterday terminated the &#8220;White House Watch&#8221; column written by Dan Froomkin. Froomkin did far better and more courageous coverage of the torture scandal than did any other Post columnist or editorial writer. (Washington Post cartoonist Tom Toles also did magnificent work on this score). Froomkin was off to a strong start on [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/19\/washington-post-dumps-best-columnist-froomkin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-06-19T16:07:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2009-06-19T16:17:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jimbovard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/19\\\/washington-post-dumps-best-columnist-froomkin\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/19\\\/washington-post-dumps-best-columnist-froomkin\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jim\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\"},\"headline\":\"Washington Post Dumps Best Columnist &#8211; Froomkin\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-06-19T16:07:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-06-19T16:17:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/19\\\/washington-post-dumps-best-columnist-froomkin\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":221,\"commentCount\":5,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/19\\\/washington-post-dumps-best-columnist-froomkin\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/19\\\/washington-post-dumps-best-columnist-froomkin\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/19\\\/washington-post-dumps-best-columnist-froomkin\\\/\",\"name\":\"Washington Post Dumps Best Columnist - Froomkin - James Bovard\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-06-19T16:07:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-06-19T16:17:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/19\\\/washington-post-dumps-best-columnist-froomkin\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/19\\\/washington-post-dumps-best-columnist-froomkin\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/19\\\/washington-post-dumps-best-columnist-froomkin\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Washington Post Dumps Best Columnist &#8211; Froomkin\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"James Bovard\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\",\"name\":\"Jim\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Jim\"},\"description\":\"Bovard's homepage is at http:\\\/\\\/www.jimbovard.com He can be contacted at jim@jimbovard.com James Bovard is the author of ten books. The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \\\"the roving inspector general of the modern state\\\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \\\"one-man truth squad.\\\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism &amp; Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \\\"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\\\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. Bovard\u2019s writings have been publicly denounced by FBI director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.jimbovard.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/jim.bovard\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/jimbovard\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Washington Post Dumps Best Columnist - Froomkin - James Bovard","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/19\/washington-post-dumps-best-columnist-froomkin\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Washington Post Dumps Best Columnist - Froomkin - James Bovard","og_description":"The Washington Post yesterday terminated the &#8220;White House Watch&#8221; column written by Dan Froomkin. 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The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \"the roving inspector general of the modern state\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \"one-man truth squad.\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism &amp; Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. Bovard\u2019s writings have been publicly denounced by FBI director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.jimbovard.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard","https:\/\/x.com\/jimbovard"],"url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=997"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1000,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/997\/revisions\/1000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}