Otherwise you’re right. The Sunpapers went down the shitter after A.S. Abell sold them to Times Mirror, then got even worse under Tribune Media. However, there’s hope: with the impending breakup of Tribune, some local groups have been trying to buy what’s left of the Sun.

–RB

No journalist should fight for the establishment. The establishment can fight for itself, it is the little guy that needs help and that’s who journalists should look out for.

Corporate news media is one of the worst things to happen to America.

As if far more piquant commentary was once a feature of his newspaper. Were he to read H.L. Mencken’s columns from 80 year ago, Kane would realize that journalists have increasingly made the transition from holding politicians accountable to giving them warm backrubs and hot tea, due in part to the economics and challenge of doing actual journalism. Hence now one is more likely to find actual journalism on the pages of Josh Marshall’s Talking Points Memo than from anything that Howard Kurtz ever smelled, let alone touched.

The Sun itself has fallen mightily since Mencken’s day, becoming not so much liberal or conservative as an establishment toilet tissue roll of subooptimal width and texture since the News-American folded in the 1970′s, rendering Baltimore until very recently a one-daily town.

What he means, of course, is “How dare that blogger be allowed to say that and not be punished for it!”

Irrelevant side note: clicking the comments link displayed a football ad by Dane Cook. Given Oliver’s opinions of the man, that’s kinda funny.