JournoGate: all the news that fits our point of view

The big foo faw in the exciting world of journalism this week, is, of course, an online discussion group known as Journolist. Apparently it's been disbanded after a number of its emails were leaked, revealing -- you might want to sit down for this -- a liberal bent in what's known as the mainstream media, which, increasingly, has little in common with mainstream public opinion.

At any rate, the "journalists" in this esteemed group -- from places like The Washington Post and The New York Times -- were doing their best to get Obama elected in 2008. We've known for as long as I can remember that people in the media have a liberal bent; the surveys of their opinions and voting habits have told us.

What we haven't seen is a coordination so explicit and blatant. Here are some tidbits:

A member of the Obama campaign was in the pack and invited them to the White House after the election.

One member referred to Journolist as the "non-official campaign."

All hate Fox News and some suggested the government should shut it down.

The irony of that last one is fun -- a bunch of biased reporters accusing a network of bias. It's also scary: the impulse to use government power over people with whom they disagree. Of late people have been floating the idea of a government bailout of the mainstream media, which is losing advertising and audience.

The same thought emerged from the mouths of two blow-dried talking heads at CNN, who allowed as how maybe the government ought to regulate bloggers -- those with whom they disagree, of course.