Howard Kurtz at the Washington Post has an article today wondering if the two-year old Politico newspaper/website is “dumbing down” the “art” of journalism:

But in its relentless pursuit of traffic — not all that different from the networks’ relentless pursuit of ratings — Politico sometimes plays up the novel, the fleeting, the provocative take that briefly titillates but evaporates within hours. And that has some critics accusing the site of dumbing down the art of reporting.

Of course Kurtz doesn’t site or name any of these non-specific critics who are doing the accusing…which, of course, is just a ploy for Kurtz to make the accusation without having to actually man-up and make the accusation himself.

The same Washington Post that is  accusing Politico of  “dumbing down the art of reporting” is, of course, the same newspaper that just did an in depth 3-page story over the weekend on the Obama’s new dog, a Portuguese Water Dog named “Barack Obama”, or “Bo” for short.

Three pages. On the Obama’s dog.

Talk about dumbing down the art of reporting…