This has always been a peeve of mine. I’ve always wanted to do a comprehensive list of former Democratic activists who became journalists versus Republican ones. There are a few examples of Republicans, but most of them have become explicitly conservative journalists. Meanwhile the number of former Democrats who’ve become “objective” journalists (or at least non-partisan “analysts”) is enormous. Off the top of my head: James Fallows, Hendrick Hertzberg, Jeff Greenfield, Bill Moyers, Hodding Carter, Tim Russert, George Stephanopolis, Chris Matthews et al.

But, there’s another form of migration as well. To have worked at the New Republic or the Washington Monthly is a feather in your cap when it comes to looking for jobs in the mainstream media. It is, at best, a minor handicap if you’ve worked at National Review or the Weekly Standard. Charles Lane is the Supreme Court reporter for the Washington Post (and a fine one from what I can tell). But can anyone imagine the Post hiring Rich Lowry or Ramesh Ponnuru for the job?

I could go on about this for hours.