This week on CounterSpin, a sort of theme show on how media cover government corruption disguised as business as usual. First up: A Wisconsin court has just handed Gov. Scott Walker a “big victory,” headlines in the Washington Post and elsewhere declared. One might’ve hoped they’d lead with what the ruling–about Walker’s abuse of campaign finance rules–did for democracy and the public’s right to know who’s paying what to whom in public office. We’ll talk with Brendan Fischer, general counsel at the Center for Media and Democracy, about what just happened in Wisconsin.
Also on the show: The sense is that the joke is on anyone who’s at all surprised to see former US Attorney General Eric Holder miss nary a beat going from investigating big financial interests to representing them at law firm Covington & Burling. Elite media’s utter lack of interest in the move suggests that outrage is outre, but how might journalists talk about this sort of democracy-mocking shenanigan without normalizing it? Reporter Lee Fang writes for The Intercept and The Nation, among other outlets. He’s followed the revolving door for years; we’ll talk with him about that.