GOODY TWO SHOES: The Stiletto Gets Results (Belatedly)
For several months, The Stiletto has been insisting that wannabe pundit Heather Robinson adhere to minimum standards of journalistic accuracy (at least), and that her boyfriend James Taranto adhere to common journalistic practice regarding disclosures of conflicts of interest when he publishes or promotes Robinson's jejune scribblings on OpinionJournal.com, of which he is the editor. The only result was a great deal of misguided speculation about The Stiletto's identity and motives, capped off by a threatening letter from Wall Street Journal General Counsel Stuart Karle.
Until now.
Taranto has finally made a clean breast of the conflict of interest about which The Stiletto has been complaining (his breasts are significantly bigger than Robinson’s, so the job fell to him).
In an article that describes his boorish behavior on a date with Robinson, Taranto admits the two have been romantically involved since before October 2005, when this particular date occurs. In the “James Taranto Handbook Of Journalistic Ethics,” this article is no doubt meant to retroactively disclose to readers his conflict of interest when he repeatedly acted as Robinson’s personal flack throughout 2006 and 2007.
His confession notwithstanding, The Stiletto doubts Taranto will go back and add the necessary conflict of interest disclosures to these articles:
† "Creative Writing,” Best of the Web Today, Apr 19, 2007;
† "Reckless Caution," OpinionJournal, Feb 8, 2007;
† "Playing Both Sides," Best of the Web Today, Jan 3, 2007;
† "'My Country Needs Me," OpinionJournal.com, Nov 1, 2006; and
† "What's Right With 'Munich," OpinionJournal.com, Feb 8, 2006.
The Stiletto is too cynical to believe her whistleblowing had any effect on Taranto’s professional conduct, and is instead attributing this sudden burst of honesty to Robinson’s peculiar penchant for regaling bar patrons with descriptions of what he’s like in bed. (As the middle-aged Taranto is corpulent, underexercised and reputedly overindulges in vodka and cigars, The Stiletto would be amazed if he could do anything interesting in the sack without those little blue pills - but that’s neither here nor there).
Regardless of his motivation for disclosing his relationship with Robinson now, The Stiletto hopes Taranto’s article is an indication of his commitment to follow the Dow Jones Code of Conduct scrupulously henceforth. Of course, none of this makes Robinson a competent journalist but The Stiletto can only do so much.
man boobs and little blue pills... I love it.
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