What? No mainstream media covering this? Shocking!

[kandrathe]

We might call that propaganda.

We might call that the free expression of opinion.

Unless it is orchestrated... Even when its run in a private listserv run by the Washington Post, or by the RNC. They have the right to express their opinions in private. The danger here is in the collusion of a 5th column across organizations to manage the group think of the press. To make examples of those that don't march in step, so that the others will fear to get out of line. How would we feel if other organizations colluded in this way?

It was actually a progressive democrat, Mickey Kaus writing for Slate, who allegedly first outed Ezra Klein's JournoList, and that led to another leak (off the record), by another progressive on the list, that eventually got Dave Weigel fired.

"But though there's something wrong with people using e-mail lists to destroy someone else's career, there's nothing wrong with e-mail lists. People like to communicate with others in their profession and others who think in a broadly similar fashion to the way they do. And of course they like the opposite, as well: I'm a member of a bipartisan dinner series and offered to start a bipartisan list serv with Tucker Carlson. And then there are list servs, like the Republican one, where coordination actually happens.""A tale of two -- actually, many more than two -- listserves"

At least Ezra Klein attempted to separate his list from the DNC, and political staff of sitting politicians.

Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus possibly lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda. Propaganda can be used as a form of political warfare.

Ugly from the left, ugly from the right, and ugly face on.