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December 29, 2004

Volokh Criticizes Coleman's Attack On Powerline

Prof. Volokh takes apart Nick Coleman's (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) attack on the Powerline guys, who respond to Coleman here, here and here.

An excerpt from The Big Trunk:

In our six posts about Coleman this month we have taken issue with his columns and his related correspondence with readers in both a straightforward factual manner and in a satirical vein. Yet Coleman omits any mention of our recent criticisms of his columns and correspondence in his column today. He only vaguely acknowledges that he "gets ripped a lot on the site." In none of our comments on Coleman, however, have we "ripped" him in the abusive personal manner that he "rips" us today. He also alludes to the fact that we have described him in connection with his column as a reliable partisan hack. Today he returns the favor; on that score, fair enough.

Rather than making any mention of the attention we have paid to his columns this month, however, he uses his column today to launch a vicious personal attack while pretending to administer justice to us in his capacity as the voice of the people. Isn't a journalist's particular stake in the subject matter of his columns something journalists are to recognize as a conflict of interest and disclose appropriately?

UPDATE: Hugh:

If the center of blog hatred in America isn't CBS, then it has to be in the newsroom of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. It is a long story, but the short version is that time and time again Strib columnists and editors have exposed themselves to withering criticism and wholly justified ridicule from members of the Northern Alliance of Blogs. Today's group drubbing of hapless Strib columnist Nick Coleman is just the most recent example, but it was pretty devastating given that a large slice of the blogosphere joined in the game in which Nick's reputation played the part of the goat head in an Afghan warlords' championship round of Buzkashi.

Add to Coleman's exposure as permanently in way over his paygrade the past humblings handed to Jim Boyd and the rest of the gang, and you have got to figure that uttering the word "blog" is pretty much waving red in a bull's eyes around that paper.

More:

I wonder if in addition to lousy writing skills, the hapless Nick Coleman has all the timing instincts of the Browns' offensive line? Perhaps he thought the quiet week between Christmas and New Years, and one already dominated by the disaster story, would be the perfect time in which to try a sideswipe at the local boys made good at Powerline. I turns out that this is the week when legions of bloggers, itchy from a Christmas slow-down, have lots of time on their hands and many of them would rather do anything than grade law exams. And while the havoc brought on by the tsunami is a huge story, it also doesn't require much commentary to explain or analyze. Into this environment Coleman drops his hate-mail.

As well as here.

Posted at 07:02 PM Pacific