Above It All

Journalist tend to think they are above the law. They also think they're above the rules of civility that most of us govern our lives by as well for that matter.
But many are discovering otherwise and they don't like it. First of all, many prominent journalists were caught up in the Scooter Libby investigation that they demanded then demanded not to be held accountable for.
Now financial writers are finding themselves caught in another web of their own creation.

The subpoenas also reflect the bully-boy tactics that have infected the SEC enforcement staff in recent years. They've acquired the Eliot Spitzer afflatus, which is to fire off subpoenas before asking questions and assume that they have a right to see any and all emails and any other communications.

The irony here is that many financial reporters and columnists have benefited by receiving the leaks of those emails from the SEC and Mr. Spitzer's office, spun of course to make a target company look bad. These journalists are learning how it feels to be on the receiving end of such blunderbuss discovery. At least they have the First Amendment to protect them, not to mention the airwaves or barrels of ink to defend themselves publicly. The average Wall Street trader has no such recourse.