The Suck-Up Watch (a continuing series)

Lays it on thick

In the latest installment in his series of hard-hitting articles on media writers, Jon Friedman of Marketwatch -- a business-news website that is otherwise pretty good -- has the following to say about Washington Post media columnist Howard Kurtz:

Thanks to his high productivity and visibility, Kurtz does more than anyone else to keep the media industry honest....

Kurtz wins accolades in the industry for being reliable, knowledgeable and, above all, open minded. That's no small compliment at a time....

Above all, Kurtz remains grounded. I got an inkling of this when I asked him the classic question: Who is your dream interview? He flashed a pained expression and muttered, "I don't do well in questions like this."

Kurtz, a likable, no-frills straight-shooter, takes pleasure in good-naturedly busting people, as I found out. When I told him that I'd recently encountered some of his colleagues at a party in tony Bethesda, Md., he shot back: "Is that where you do your digging?"

You have to wonder why Marketwatch is serving up this drivel. We know how it helps Friedman -- always good for the career to butter up the more influential members of the media-watching fraternity. But it kinda makes you wonder what his employers stand to gain from publishing this pap.