Malkin, Coulter, Newman, Rush, and many others, are part of something bigger that is immune to certain things like accountability.

The Daily Howler, plus some of Stirling's essays discussing the reactionary/conservative political alliance that runs this country and the role of the media in pandering to that alliance.

Those who follow the scripts and pander are promoted or not held accountable, while those who deviate find themselves shut out of power. The media is not an independent powerbase anymore--it has an incestuous relationship (physically and intellectually) with the political and corporate governing classes. It's not a conspiracy to guide public discourse in a certain direction... it's systemic corruption and creeping elitism that influences opinions and thoughts. This inevitably influences what is said on the air and who is even able to get on TV/radio/etc. in the first place.

The pundits, reporters, editors, and owners of the major media outlets have become very rich and no longer identify with the "second economy" that 97% of us live in (as referenced recently here on the Agonist). They identify with the nation's elite, and that elite sees things as going quite swell--their relative share of the nation's wealth has done nothing but increase for the last decade or two. Specifically, the media seems to identify more closely with the Republican elite (conservative/reactionary) and has hitched its wagon to that party.

A reporter covering consumer protection issues is significantly deviating from the interests of the current media empire and its political/corporate allies. He's not supporting the interests of the 3% economy, so he doesn't receive their support. Meanwhile, tools like Coulter, Rush etc. serve to energize the conservative/reactionary base that has been voting for this economy and therefore continue to receive support.

In my opinion, the view that this is a class identity issue resolves things quite a bit. The issues and opinions that are important to the wealthy get pushed hard by the media because they themselves have become wealthy and are very friendly with the powerbrokers in the political and corporate classes. That which affects the rest of us is either not supported or, sometimes, is actively discouraged.

The Incomparable One has been on my list since way before the wretched term blogosphere was coined as describing all things bloggy. =)

And elitism has been around as some kind of answer ever since the Monica days made prudes out of Fairness Doctrine abolitionist newhires. But one really has to be entirely devoid of the notion that people are mostly deep down Mmm mmm good to believe that covers all of it.

My opening question was a bit rhetorical, to be honest, but not 100%. Much as it's a baffling mystery why Bush garners even 28% total fealty nowadays, it's equally so that otherwise moral and decent people smell BS and buy a pound to put in their freezer.