Media Whores Online

Recall, if you will, the fraudulent firestorm that raged when wingnut bloggers bashed Markos Moulitsas for accepting money from the Dean campaign for consulting work, even though he fully disclosed that matter. In that instance, the twisted-panties brigade was led by the Wall Street Journal and the most ethical (and dedicated) blogger ... EVER, Z. Teachout.

On the twelfth, P. O'Neill reported on a blogger who is bought-and-sold by the Wall Street Journal, and not only failed to disclose it, but lied about it when asked. Here's what went down when Arthur Chrenkoff was forced to 'fess up:

They do actually [pay me] -- a pretty insignificant amount -- I started doing it for free but they suggested they might pay me a rather a nominal amount. It's certainly not in line with what is paid for opinion pieces. . . . I do apologize, with hindsight I should have told you the truth. As I said I was a bit taken aback. I didn't see how it was relevant to the story but having said that I do apologize.

Artie was stymied not only by the word "pay" but also by the word "edit." And the word "relevant." Which makes him the intellectual and ethical equal of the Journal's resident dumbass, James Taranto. I feel your pain, James. If the WSJ editorial page didn't employ liars (and, to be fair, loons as well), you'd have have a lot of blank space.