Sin Of Admission

Greg Sargent catches the Politico guys telling the truth again.

A striking admission by Politico's John Harris and Jim VandeHei in their big piece today on the new media reality:

At POLITICO, we have an unusual vantage point on this new reality. We are both an enabler (in the eyes of some critics) of the deterioration of political discourse, and a target of it (as we try to defend our values as neutral journalists amid constant criticism from activists who think we fail at neutrality or are disdainful of the goal in the first place).

There is some truth on both counts. Like all news sites, we are aware that conflict clicks. More traffic comes from an item on Sarah Palin's "refudiation" faux pas than from our hundreds of stories on the complexities of health care reform or Wall Street regulation.

This is actually an important concession: Frivolous items about Sarah Palin do degrade our discourse, but we need to do them, because the simple fact is that people click on them in droves. 

Well no kidding, Greg.  Politico's in the infotainment business, not the news business.  At least they are admitting the fact that they exist to get clicks, not inform people.

What, you thought they were a news outfit?  What, like FOX?  That's funny.  Despite FOX and Breitbart and Politico around, it's the Liberal Media that has the agenda.  Right.