NOTHING WRONG WITH HONEST PARTISANSHIP:

Instead of trying to stay in the middle between polarized extremes and avoid criticism, political journalists and their bosses could recognize that there is no escape from charges of bias because these charges are just a further aspect of polarization. If you're going to be attacked anyway, might as well let it rip.

That's what the Washington Post did when earlier this month it hired Chris Mooney to cover the environment in blog form. Mooney is the author of two books -- The Republican War on Science and The Republican Brain (subtitle: The Science of Why They Deny Science - and Reality) -- that leave no doubt about where he stands. In announcing his appointment, the Post described Mooney as a writer with a distinctive voice and a consistent argument: "that people's preconceptions - political, religious, cultural - color the way they view science."

Newsrooms are better off with reporters who know their beats, nail their arguments, make clear where they're coming from and meet high standards of verification, always. Intellectual honesty is a more reliable basis for trust than a ritualized objectivity. A clear voice is more valuable than a nonpartisan veneer.

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