ACORN Video Sting a Lesson in New Journalism

Andrew Breitbart may have an ideological ax to grind, but so what? The undercover ACORN videos he's posted illustrate a significant strength of 21st-century American journalism, writes Jack Shafer: "It will accept contributions from everybody from amateurs to entertainers (I'm looking at you, Jon Stewart) to gadflies to billionaires to activists to students to genocidal tyrants." Breitbart's right-wing slant doesn't taint the work.

"Viewing the world through an ideological lens can sometimes help a journalist to discover a story," Shafer writes for Slate. And don't believe the specious argument that the videos aren't a legitimate story. They smack of Borat and are "kind of a mess," but they've resulted in deserved national scrutiny of ACORN. Breitbart, a Matt Drudge associate, has similarly embarrassed the NEA of late. "Give the man two cheers. If he keeps up the good work, toss him a third." (More Andrew Breitbart stories.)