PAST PERFORMANCE IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RESULTS:

Appearing on Monday’s “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw praised Sheriff Dupnik of Pima County, Ariz. for condemning political vitriol, and wished more officials would follow suit. Dupnik, a Democrat, blamed violent political rhetoric in part for the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), and singled out conservatives Sarah Palin and Sharron Angle for instances of unacceptable hate speech.

—NewsBusters, January 10th, 2011.

It is 4:00 am on the first day of my new life as an accused predator in the universe of American journalism. I was ambushed and then perp walked across the pages of The Washington Post and Variety as an avatar of male misogyny, taken to the guillotine and stripped of any honor and achievement I had earned in more than a half century of journalism and citizenship.

* * * * * * * *

I am not a perfect person. I’ve made mistakes, personally and professionally. But as I write this at dawn on the morning after a drive by [sic] shooting by Vester, the Washington Post and Variety, I am stunned by the free ride given a woman with a grudge against NBC News, no distinctive credentials or issue passions while at FOX.

—“Tom Brokaw goes nuclear on the Washington Post but we’ve been told they’re real news so the article must be true. Sorry Tom!”, Twitchy, today.

Related Flashback: Brokaw’s Now-Awkward Takes on Sexual Harassment.