Obama’s Journalism Bailout? Come Work for Us!

Does six times make a trend? That’s how many journalists have jumped ship in recent months to take on jobs with the Obama administration — the most recent being Jill Zuckman who was a Washington-based correspondent at the Chicago Tribune. Zuckman joins a list that most recently includes Jay Carney, Doug Frantz, Scott Shepard, Warren Bass, and Peter Gosselin. Over at Politico Michael Calderone notes that all this movement is causing some consternation in certain circles.

“Obama bails out more media water-carriers,” conservative blogger Michelle Malkin wrote…Blogs at both the Weekly Standard and the National Review are pointing to a “revolving door” that spins between the media and the Obama administration. And while Brent Bozell, president of the conservative Media Research Center, acknowledges that financial troubles may be forcing reporters out of newsrooms, he thinks it’s worth noting where they’re going.

“When some leave journalism because of a reduction in staff, what’s the natural landing spot?” The Obama administration,” Bozell charged.

All of which might make for a stronger argument if, say, the entire journalism industry wasn’t crumbling around us daily (perhaps Bozell and Malkin should subscribe to our daily newsfeed to get a dose of just how dire things are these days!). One imagines that receiving a paycheck from the government instead of applying to it for unemployment is the more attractive option for many journalists facing buyouts and layoffs. So perhaps these decisions have less to do with personal politics than being able to pay to mortgage. What say you readers?

What does the Obama ‘journalist bailout’ signify?
( polls)

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