Dead tree media

Instapundit has yet another post on the growing problem for main stream newsprint media outlets. He notes, and quotes Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post, that either print media is getting more corrupt, or we're just paying more attention now. He thinks it's the latter.

In the past month alone, four reporters for major newspapers have been ousted, and a columnist was suspended, for ethical missteps. The drip-drip-drip of disclosures about sloppiness, fabrication and plagiarism have further eroded the media's reputation, leading to a one-strike-and-you're-out policy at many outlets. . . .

Media bosses are getting tougher on wayward staffers not just because of a greater sense of professionalism, but because outsiders -- led by bloggers and other critics -- have stepped up the pressure. In the Internet age, there's no rug under which to sweep these problems.

And here's another great example. Patterico notes that the LA Times modified a Reuters article to remove the one bit of solid proof that supports the US position on the incident with the Italian journalist and Italian intelligence agents. The Times also modified other words and sentences, like one in which the word "killed" (in reference to the Italian agent being killed) to "slayed" implying that the US soldiers did something closer to murder than just killed in action.
And they wonder why we don't trust them.