Conor Freidersdorf, writing about the firing of two journalists due to their support of Occupy Wall Street, raises Jay Rosen’s journalistic critique known as the View from Nowhere:

In pro journalism, American style, the View from Nowhere is a bid for trust that advertises the viewlessness of the news producer. Frequently it places the journalist between polarized extremes, and calls that neither-nor position “impartial.” Second, it’s a means of defense against a style of criticism that is fully anticipated: charges of bias originating in partisan politics and the two-party system. Third: it’s an attempt to secure a kind of universal legitimacy that is implicitly denied to those who stake out positions or betray a point of view. American journalists have almost a lust for the View from Nowhere because they think it has more authority than any other possible stance.

But there’s a fourth element that’s missing:

It’s an attempt to alienate as few consumers and advertisers as possible.

Always follow the money, especially in an industry which constantly bemoans its financial fate.