Jamison Foser highlights this exchange with Howard Kurtz, discussing Fox News' promotion of right-wing "Tea Party" protests:
Minneapolis, Minn.: What's your take on Fox News throwing "FNC Tax Day Tea Parties" and having Hannity, Beck, Greta and Cavuto host them across the country? Seems to cross the line, even if the folks involved are "opinion" hosts.I defy anyone to find Howard Kurtz defending the behavior of reporters who get similarly involved in liberal causes. But more important, Kurtz, the Washington Post's in-house media critic, is dismissing a critique that violates his own paper's ethical standards (my emphasis).Howard Kurtz: They're free to stage whatever kind of protest they want. I only complain when talk show hosts join fundraisers for the Republican or Democratic parties, or become part of candidate rallies. That says to me they have relinquished any semblance of independence.
We avoid active involvement in any partisan causes – politics, community affairs, social action, demonstrations – that could compromise or seem to compromise our ability to report and edit fairly. Relatives cannot fairly be made subject to Post rules, but it should be recognized that their employment or their involvement in causes can at least appear to compromise our integrity. The business and professional ties of traditional family members or other members of your household must be disclosed to department heads.
This from 1999, so maybe the Post's ethical guidelines have been changed since then. Otherwise this is pretty straightforward--a cause, protest or movement that is not centered around a particular candidate can be as much of a conflict of interest for a reporter as participating -- as opposed to covering -- a rally centered around a candidate. This is an ethical standard set by the paper that Kurtz works for, and yet he dismisses like concerns out of hand when they involve conservative media figures at an ostensibly "fair and balanced" news outlet advocating for a conservative cause. It would be hard to imagine Kurtz being similarly accepting of say -- a reporter at the Post who covers human-rights issues participating in a rally for the ACLU.
-- A. Serwer
