Rod Blagojevich

If “news” is defined as information not previously known, the big story coming from the arrest of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich isn't his attempt to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder. With Blagojevich's predecessor already behind bars and the “Chicago machine” notorious for its shady dealings, political corruption in “the Land of Lincoln” is not exactly unexpected.

Maybe the media missed the real news because it hit so close to home. If the U.S. Department of Justice is right, Blagojevich attempted to muzzle critical editorial writers at the Chicago Tribune by threatening to withhold state tax credits expected to save the newspaper's parent company $100 million on the proposed sale of the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field. Blagojevich allegedly told an aide to tell Tribune executives that “our recommendation is to fire all those (expletive) people, get 'em the (expletive) out of there and get us some editorial support.”As a Cubs fan, I find that troubling. As a former editorial writer, I find it disturbing. And as someone whose livelihood depends upon the responsible, independent and fearlessexpression of the freedom of the media, I find it downright disgusting.

Not because a public official tried to intimidate journalists - that's not unusual, either - but because journalists failed to respond appropriately and, in the process, missed an even bigger story that should guide the nation's response to its financial crisis.

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081210/NEWS/812100354

Shutting up the Press, the Bloggers DOES not Change the Truth.

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