I always considered the best of journalism was on display once a week through the pages of the Kings Cross Whisper.
And the difficult task it would be for a journalist , agonising over the choice of “fat girl “ to present for the weeks centre spread.

It’d be all down hill with the closing copy of the Whisper for journalism I feared at the time: Sadly I was correct I believe.

Rhian: If the fact checking was assisted by unbeatable space age lie detection, then it is the answer.

Not for nothing is it writ large, know the truth and the truth will set you free.

There is just one truth and not many versions of it, as some will attest.

Then there's opinion, lies, propaganda, faith-based belief and blind ignorance/superstation.

The witch doctor points the bone and three-four days later, the tribesperson is dead.

Was that person killed by black magic? No, just ignorant superstation and dehydration. As he/she sat and waited to die.

There is but just one almighty irrefutable truth! The very foundation stone of all good repeatable science!
Alan B.

Rhain: I take your very valid points on expert opinion etc. At the end of the day, it's still opine. One would have to take stupid pills to believe otherwise.
Alan B.

My goodness, did the author just write this with a straight face?

"Tucker Carlson's recent interview of Russian President Vladimir Putin was ridiculed by the mainstream media, rather than being seen as important piece of journalism capturing the Russian side of the story."

Leaving aside Carlson is a partisan hack feeding the MAGA fascination with authoritarian strong men, his fawning and utterly softball interview with Putin hardly supported "a reputation for hard headed journalism, which exposed scandals without fear or favour" which the author is seeking.

Keep it just a little bit real please.

Hi SteeleRedux,
I think Carlson was somewhat unprepared and maybe a little bit intimidated by the interview with Putin.
He was wholly unprepared for Putin's take on the last 1000 years of Russian history.
It wasn't his best effort, but he still gave Putin a platform with which to speak to the American people.
- And regardless of what the hysterical western authoritarian leaders who attacked Carlson even prior to the interview say, I think it's extremely important that the world have a chance to know just exactly what Putin thinks.
To say otherwise is an attack on independent journalism.

MAGA supporters are citizens too.
And I think MAGA is not so much a movement in and of itself, but a response to the extreme woke policies of the left.

If the issue is an open border (ludicrous policy) then of course there are going to be many Americans standing against it.
You can't label all MAGA supporters lunatics, when many just want to close the border to thousands of undocumented immigrants moving drugs into the US and creating an epidemic.

I wouldn't be surprised if the CIA has an agreement with the cartels.
It wouldn't be the first time they earned money from drugs.

The whole establishment is corrupt, even Republicans like Mitch McConnel.
They stripped out spending on the southern border but kept spending for the war in Ukraine and Israel.

Dear Armchair Critic,

My issue is with the author conflating Carlson's effort with hard-headed journalism.

You tell me how "somewhat unprepared", "wholly unprepared", and "intimidated" reconcile with being a "hard-headed journalist"? They don't.

In my view it was a Putin puff piece by a 'useful idiot'