Pardon me, but who's Shaw tryin' to kid? This guy ever see The Front Page, Citizen Kane or The Sweet Smell of Success? The name Walter Winchell ring a bell? Hello. "Ethical journalism" has always been a bit of a canard. Back in the day, yellow journalism was as common as the clap. Papers like Hearst's would convict people in print, manufacture stories and do anything to sell more copies. (Sound familiar?)In fact, I'd argue that it was in the '60s and '70s that American journalism acquired (or reacquired) a sense of idealism. Think All the Presiden't Men, The China Syndrome and The Parallax View. Before that time, journalists in general were pegged one step above circus performers and hookers in the social hierarchy. Moreover, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Blair work a lot of hard news stories? Rick Bragg fits Shaw's profile, but does Blair? By the way, I love your site. Keep up the good work!

Conrad, thanks for the praise. We're trying. And good point about Blair. He didn't carry the "stylist" label that Bragg did. Bragg may be an example of the long narrative approach to journalism that Shaw means, but not really Blair.