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WSJ Rolls Its Own News

The eight European leaders that endorsed the Administration's position on Iraq made their views known through a solicited editorial in the Wall Street Journal. What makes this interesting is that the Journal (and many, many others) then turned around and reported it as news. Of course, this happens all the time on shows like Meet the Press and Face the Nation. What's interesting is that it doesn't pass the smell test, for no other reason than because of the importance of the story, it highlights the manufacturing of news. The LA Times ran a piece about this episode, and refers vaguely to ethical questions. The allusions were vague, of course, because there aren't any ethical questions. It's just journalists finding a story and making absolutely sure that they reap the rewards.