Fox News put Politico on blast this morning, charging the site with ‘liberal bias’ after the Daily Caller exposed that Politico reporter Andy Barr was leaving journalism for a job with the Democratic Party in Arizona.  As Media Research Center’s Brent Bozell discussed Barr’s beat and coverage on “Fox and Friends,” FNC ran banners that read “SITE’S LIBERAL SLANT REVEALED” and “BARR’S EXIT EXPOSES POLITICO’S TRUE COLORS.”

Though the story is not nearly as sensational as FNC’s headlines, Barr’s departure does represent another hash mark in the list of journos who have hung up their hats for jobs in politics.  For example, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is the former Washington bureau chief of TIME magazine. Politico’s Jonathan Allen left the publication for a gig with Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) and then returned to Politico less than a year later. CNN senior producer Sasha Johnson is now at the Department of Transportation.  Both Jill Zuckman and Peter Gosselin left their jobs with Tribune to join the Obama Administration.  As did longtime ABC and CBS News reporter Linda Douglass who left broadcast journalism for a job at the White House.  Douglass, like Jonathan Allen, eventually returned to media.  She’s now a VP and Head of Communications for Atlantic Media, which owns National Journal and The Atlantic.  Steven Rattner, Obama’s car czar, spent nine years writing for the New York Times.  And Moira Bagley, former Roll Call reporter and Daily Caller Opinion Page editor, now works as communications director for Senator Rand Paul (R-KY).

UPDATE: It was brought to our attention that FNC’s morning package was not just sensational but also hypocritical. In 2010 Megan Whittemore, who once covered Capitol Hill for Fox News and FoxNews.com, joined the office of now House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) as a deputy press secretary. On the flip side, we almost forgot about WaPo reporter turned Biden flack Shailagh Murray.

Despite the sensational banners, generalizations and tabloid approach to journalism, “Fox and Friends” has a point.  What do you think: does a reporter’s departure for a job in politics prove slanted coverage in the past?

Good morning FishbowlDC!

Got a blind item, interesting link, funny note, comment, birthday, anniversary or anything of the sort for Morning Reading List? Drop us a line.

Its day 88 covering the Obama administration and week 11 for us. What we know and what we’re reading this Friday morning…

NEWSPAPERS | TV | ONLINE | MAGAZINES | NEWS NOTES | AWARDS | JOBS | REVOLVING DOOR

NEWSPAPERS

NYT plans to do away with several weekly sections “in a bid to save millions of dollars” in ink, paper and freelance reporter costs. On the chopping block are Escapes, the regular fashion layout in the magazine, and regional weekly sections. NYT: The guide to each day’s newspaper, which is now printed on the second, third, and fourth pages of the first section, will be consolidated into a single page.

Reuters: Gannett posted a 60 percent drop in quarterly profit because of lower advertising revenue, but cost cuts helped it beat some downtrodden expectations for struggling U.S. newspapers. Gannett reported a 34 percent drop in publishing ad revenue.

TV

Did DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano set pre-conditions for morning show interviews yesterday? Possibly.

The NYPost reported yesterday on a “top-secret meeting” recently at 30 Rock between GE CEO Jeff Immelt, NBCU President Jeff Zucker and “the top suits and some of the on-air talent at CNBC.” “There was a long discussion about whether CNBC has become too conservative and is beating up on Obama too much,” a source told the Post.

ONLINE

TVNewser is all over Ashton Kutcher v. CNN here.

MAGAZINES

A prototype of Newsweek’s redesign that will be launched in early May is a cleaner take on the old, with more white space and bolder photographs. The launch will coincide with a relaunch of Newsweek.com that will replace wire copy with links to the best sources of online news.

NEWS NOTES

Is “State of Play” the last good movie about news reporters? Find out here.

E&P reports newsroom employment plunged 11.3% in 2008, with the industry losing some 5,900 jobs, according to the American Society of News Editors. The number of newsroom jobs is now at a level last seen during the early 1980s.

Luckily, Jon Friedman at Marketwatch has some solutions here.

WSJ: Former NYT reporter, Quadrangle Group cofounder, and the leader of the Obama administration’s auto task force, Steven Rattner, was allegedly one of the executives involved with payments under scrutiny in a probe of an alleged kickback scheme at New York state’s pension fund.

AWARDS

The University of Maryland’s Merrill College of Journalism’s Terp Weekly Edition Radio staff won a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for their 2008 special report on sexual assault. Congrats Terps from a proud alum!

HAT TIPS: Mediabistro, Romenesko

JOBS and REVOLVING DOOR after the jump…

Read more