JEFF JARVIS AND ERIC ALTERMAN... FIGHT, FIGHT!

"Rabid lberal" Eric Alterman and moderate Jeff Jarvis go at it on MSNBC and the blogosphere. I think Jarvis wins on a TKO. Alterman hit the canvas one too many times:

In the world of one-from-column-A/one-from-column-B TV, I spent a few minutes on MSNBC Tuesday night on the other side of rabid conservatives Pat Buchanan and Michael Medved (on The Passion of the Christ and the Oscars) and the next day I'm back on MSNBC placed on the other side of rabid liberal Eric Alterman (on Iraqi blogs and the election). I mentioned the confrontation here but didn't go into detail mainly because I long ago stopped paying attention to Alterman and didn't think he was worth the effort and moreso because I did not want to again spread the blood libel he engages in regarding Iraqi bloggers: After quoting his favorite blogger on Iraq -- who else but Juan Cole? -- Alterman repeats the irresponsible, unfounded, dangerous speculation that, gee, if Iraqi bloggers are pro-American they must be CIA plants, huh? '

I told Alterman on the air that that was irresponsible and dangerous. I said he had not one shred of evidence or reporting or fact to back up his speculation. I said that he could end up getting these men, whom I've met and whom I know, harmed.

Alterman said, well, gee, the CIA has done weird things before so why couldn't they do this?

That's responsible journalism? Not in any universe I know. That's the worst of tabloid, tin-hat, anti-intellectual, ammoral rumor-mongering. That's Eric, the rumor monger.

What he did was, let me repeat, not journalistic. Any editor worth his salt would have killed that speculation in print (well, except at the NY Times). (full post)