Michael Kinsley: The Big Problem with America's Press

From Brad DeLong's archives:

Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal: [Michael Kinsley] says:

The biggest problem is -- and I don't know what the solution is, so it's not a criticism, as much as it is a puzzle -- is that the conventions of objectivity make it very difficult to say that something is a lie. And they require balance, which is often just not justified by reality.... And then they always need to pair it with something else. 'Candidate X murdered three people at a rally yesterday, and candidate Y sneezed without using a Kleenex. This is why many people are saying this is the roughest campaign ever.'"

But[, Kinsley goes on,] this is "not a criticism, as much as... a puzzle" because he doesn't "know what the solution is."