For instance, Iraq is bad news. Pretty much all bad news. Even the Iraqis have given up on it.

Folks who report it tend to regard it as a lost cause. Those that don't seem to have a bad case of the blind staggers, veering uncontrollably to the Right while not observing a real world.

Conservatives accuse the messengers of bias when the truth is grim. When they report unpleasant facts.

What kind of person would be able to maintain an upbeat view of Iraq? Would they be "objective"?

For instance, reporting the Holocaust. Any journalist would have to become an "activist".

A journalist should be Honest, Open-minded and Willing. And they could still be an "activist". In fact, in some situations, would have to be.

Arf