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In October 2007, FAIR bemoaned the Murdock takeover because of his "penchant for using his holdings as vehicles for his personal (views) and business interests." Earlier FAIR and the Columbia Journalism Review criticized its editorial page for inaccuracy, extreme bias, and dishonesty.
The Journal is unapologetic in saying its philosophy "make(s) no pretense of walking down the middle of the road. Our comments and interpretations are made from a definite point of view....We oppose all infringements on individual rights, whether (from) private monopoly, labor union monopoly or from an overgrowing government.(We're) not much interested in labels but if we were to choose one, we would say we are radical."
Radical can be revolutionary and beneficial when it backs fundamental progressive change and reform. Webster defines it as:
"marked by a considerable departure from the usual and traditional: extreme; tending or disposed to make extreme changes in existing views, habits, conditions, or institutions; of, relating to, or constituting a political (or perhaps business) group associated with views, practices, and policies of extreme change; (or) advocating extreme measures to retain or restore a political state of affairs" such the radical right represented by the WSJ's management and editorial writers.
Critics agree that they're on the far right extremist fringe, a supporter of voodoo economics, tax cuts for the rich, a staunch defender of executive privilege, and disdainful of anything to the left of their views as witnessed daily by some of the most outlandish, one-sided, pro-business commentaries countenancing no alternatives, with the rarest of rare exceptions showing up to make the paper look fair, which it's not.
Consider editorial board member Mary O'Grady in her weekly Americas column on "politics, economics and business in Latin America and Canada." Her extremism is unmatched. Her style is agitprop; her space a truth-free zone; her language hateful and vindictive; her tone malicious and slanderous; her style bare-knuckled thuggishness; and her material calculating, mendacious, and shameless. Yet she's a WSJ regular and an award-winning op-ed writer, but surely no journalist according to Webster's definition:
"writing characterized by a direct presentation of facts or description of events without an attempt at interpretation."
O'Grady fails on both counts. She's a kind of print version of Fox News' Glenn Beck, who promotes himself on glennbeck.com looking arrogant in a uniform reminiscent of the Nazi SS.
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