Wednesday, February 16, 2005

What's in a Jack Shafer?

In Slate's Pressbox column today Jack "bloggers rip my flesh" Shafer takes note of a new promotion by Starbucks that features cups with quotes by journalists and celebrities. Shafer speculates on custom signature brews for writers and journalists, then asks, "What's in a Jack Shafer?"

I'll get to that in a minute, but first I want to address what's in a Ken Auletta, whose cup Shafer quotes in his column:
There are those who believe a liberal or a conservative bias permeates the media. I don't. The operative press bias is one that favors conflict, not ideology, and it is lashed by a market-driven bias to boost ratings or circulation with more wow stories, more sizzle.
Wow. Based on Auletta's words here I'd have to say that his signature brew would be a lukewarm café au lait with a large, honking dollop of merde de taureau, a soupçon of jamais vu, and a broad cligne de l'oeil, stirred with Auletta's disingenuous tongue.

The idea that the MSM is motivated only by conflict, and not by liberal ideology is laughable. The notion that the press has a conservative bias is the province of folks who mutter darkly of Project Echelon and cover their windows with tinfoil.

Now, what's in a Jack Shafer? It's got to be espresso, nothing else will cover the taste of weasel purée.