Whistleblower fired. Press secretary reveals lazy reporters accepting prepackaged stories.

[genna]

Every time I see a story like this, I find myself wondering how the media can present itself as an impartial, neutral arbiter when they refuse to take their function in this democracy seriously.



http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20037828-503544.html

"Bardella was describing his practice of packaging stories for reporters. That's where he basically would hand reporters relevant documents and a quote and give them an exclusive. Numerous news organizations have published these stories. No matter how small the investigation, the exclusivity makes the story bigger and generates buzz inside the beltway. And Bardella told the New Yorker that some reporters would publish his pitches almost word for word, which he called "embarrassing."

Issa never seemed to mind sharing the spotlight with Bardella, however. In fact, he told the New Yorker that Bardella was his "secret weapon." "


Of course, Bardella is out and fired because the reporters who cover Issa were offended by Bardella sharing their emails with a third party BUT what about their normal reporting practices? Does anyone care about that?