Well we’ve got a case of another journalist that turned into a political operative that now wants to go back to being a journalist. And would you be surprised that the journo/politico/journo redux is a Democrat? I would hope you wouldn’t because the right leaning journo to politico hardly ever happens (though it has been known to).
It doesn’t just happen on a national level as it has with all the journos who joined Obama in D.C., either. This time it’s one Bob Reed former Chicago reporter and editor of Crain’s Chicago Business turned mouthpiece for Illinois Democratic Governor Pat Quinn. Reed quit the journalism trade to head up Pat Quinn’s communications office when he was Lt. Gov. and stayed with him when he became Illinois’ accidental governor upon the ejection of Rod Blagojevich from his lofty, bribe-riddled heights. Now Reed wants to go back to being a journalist and has resigned from Quinn’s staff to pursue new opportunities.
Interestingly, Reed termed his employ in the guv’s office as just another journalistic “assignment.”
I got an unexpected call from then-Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, who knew my work and offered me a spokesman position. His offer prompted me to seriously think about doing something besides traditional journalism. You know, go outside my comfort zone. I also knew in my bones that this was going to be a whale of an assignment. Although I accepted the job before Rod Blagojevich was arrested, it was pretty obvious the state was going through a rough time and something was going to give. But I had no idea how the fast and furious the changes would be.
Notice the chosen phrases in Reed’s answer? His new job in government was something “besides traditional journalism.” So apparently Reed sees working for government as non-traditional journalism? Then he went on to characterize his stint in partisan politics as just another journalistic “assignment.”
It seems pretty plain that journalist Reed didn’t see much difference between journalism and working as a partisan political mouthpiece for a sitting governor. And this is just the thing with so many journalists in this era of Obama. They so easily jump from being a supposedly independent, incorruptible journalist to being a partisan hack for a politician and then they don’t see any reason why they can’t just jump right back into the world of the “non-partisan” journo!
Naturally there is one reason for this. As journalists they act with the same guiding principles as they did as a left-wing, Democrat mouthpieces. There isn’t any difference in their minds, nothing to be independent from. They were lefties when they were journalists and the transition was no big deal when they became a partisan mouthpiece. Seamless, really.
And now, Reed is looking to become an editor or “manager” as he put it, again. From journo, to partisan political flak, right back to journo. It’s all so seamless, indeed. So much for that old claim that journalists are naturally suspicious of government, eh?