US News responds: Fact-deficient ranting about Catholics in public life is “fair commentary”

[Valin]

Hot Air:

Ed Morrissey

1/11/14

 

US News and World Report editor Brian Kelly finally responded to an avalanche of criticism over Jamie Stiehm’s hyperbolic rant about Catholics on the Supreme Court and in public life with … a non-sequitur. Kelly shrugs this off as a service to diversity, and doesn’t bother to address the chasm between Stiehm’s commentary and the facts, nor her outright and blanket hostility to the Catholic Church and to Catholics in public life.

 

Here it is in its entirety:

 

 

Perceived bias on the court is a legitimate issue that U.S. News & World Report has covered for many years, from many perspectives. Our Opinion section has published pieces on the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage from all sides of the debate and, just this week, included pieces from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Archdiocese of New York and Concerned Women for America. We are committed to publishing a diversity of views on a variety of topics. Jamie Stiehm’s piece is within the bounds of fair commentary. We have run letters rebutting the piece and will continue to feature a diversity of opinions on this topic and others.

 

 

“Fair commentary”? Well, okay, let’s just stipulate up front that “fair commentary” has a wide breadth. No one (well, few anyway) argued that Stiehm should be somehow gagged for her comments. The question for US News was why they chose to run it. After all, they didn’t have to publish it, and the decision was made anyway to run it. Why? Kelly essentially avoids the question by claiming diversity, which is ironically exactly what Stiehm was arguing against.

 

(Snip)