My God, these “journalists” have no shame. I guess it’s time for another conference on ethics in blogging. Via Daily Kos, we discover that reporters get “exclusives” from the GOP - if they promise not to call any Democrats for comment:

The piece is subscription only so most of you can’t read it. But if you read all the way through, you might find it odd that no one from the Byrd campaign, the DSCC, the DNC, or the WV Democratic Party was quoted in the piece.

Turns out Roll Call writer Lauren Whittington got the story from the GOP with the ground rule that she not call anyone else for the story. In a news media that has fallen mightily, this is just one more gross failure of established journalistic process (time for another blogger ethics conference?).

Meanwhile, Lauren didn’t just report a one-sided story at the demands of her Republican source, but then refused to ask any real questions that would harm the GOP effort, as enterprising blogger Brandon Brewster discovered:

After reading this article I couldn’t help but ask myself which media outlets in West Virginia were going to be running these advertisements. I called up Lauren W. Whittington (columnist for the Roll Call) to ask her if Brian Nick went into any specifics pertaining to his comment that stated: “The initial buy, which will be concentrated in the large media markets in the state.” I was interested in finding out, in specific, which television stations or “large media markets” Brian Nick was referring too. Whittington told me that Nick did not go into any specifics other than what she had presented in the article for “security reasons,” security as in they do not want Democratic operatives finding out this type of information.

So Brandon made a few more phone calls, and wallah, he got the information that Lauren refused to report:

Brian Nick told me that the NRSC will be airing these anti-Byrd commercials tomorrow, they have negotiated a deal with the “top three” television stations in Charleston to air these attack ads ( I believe they are WCHS, WHCP, and WSAZ). Brian Nick also explained that these commercials will have an extended life on West Virginia television sets because they plan on creating a separate fundraising campaign which will raise money for the specific purpose of keeping these anti-Byrd attack ads on the air.

Roll Call’s phone number is 202.824.6800. Call, ask for Lauren Whittington, and ask her why she doesn’t believe in the standard journalistic practice of using more than a single source for a story. Ask her why she carries water for the GOP and works with them to protect their attack ad strategy.

UPDATE: WashPo was doing it, too. Via Duncan.