Tim Graham doesn’t like the Washington Post’s profile of Glenn Beck. Why? Because the author quotes people who criticize Beck. From Graham’s Jan. 26 NewsBusters post:
When the Washington Post notices a conservative personality with a front-page Style section profile, they are acknowledged that he may have Arrived. But that doesn’t mean the profile will be nice. David Segal’s profile of CNN Headline News and syndicated radio host Glenn Beck starts out on the front page as noticing Beck is a tad more moderate in persona than Bill O’Reilly, acknowledging his own faults and finding gray areas, and “he won’t offer the righteous condemnations you’d expect from the God-fearing conservative that he constantly reminds viewers he is.”
But turn inside, and Segal has profiled Beck for the purpose of a public whipping by leftists over Beck’s questioning of Muslim Rep. Keith Ellison: “I have to tell you, I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, ‘Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.’ And I know you’re not. I’m not accusing you of being an enemy, but that’s the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way.” Segal lines up the liberal critics:
Is Graham really defending Beck’s remarks to Ellison? Since the only appearance of “liberal critics” in the article — an otherwise sympathetic piece about how he overcame his various demons to become a success — is over those remarks, it appears so. Just because, say, CNSNews.com wouldn’t have been so gauche as to note that Beck has said controversial things doesn’t mean that the Post should do that too.
Graham goes on to attack Segal for his other purported offenses against conservatism. Among them:
- “He has hailed Che Guevara chic.” In fact, Graham is engaging in the depiction-equals-approval fallacy, attacking Segal for writing about an exhibition on the history how the iconic image of Che became commercialized. Graham’s February 2006 post in support of this claim portrays the opinions of the people Segal quotes in his article as those of Segal himself.
- “He has hailed rapper Teddy Riley of The Coup for making Bolshevism a hoot.” Segal’s offense here, per Graham, is that he put The Coup’s latest album in his list of top 10 albums of 2006, noting that it “mixes revolutionary politics, humor and sweet beats” and calling it “[s]mart and catchy, a rare double.” Graham went on to suggest that Segal (as well as fellow Post critic J. Freedom du Lac, who also liked the Coup album) put the album on the list only out of symapthy toward the group’s political views. As we noted when Graham first attacked Segal over this selection, Graham puts his faith instead in the rap reviews of Brent Bozell.
It seems that Graham does have it in for David Segal.