"Misogyny pays. And Matthews has three Mercedes in his driveway to prove it."

Eric Boehlert, whose book Lapdogs is quite possibly the best modern media critique I've ever read (which is actually saying something; I've got a whole bookshelf filled with the stuff), is one of a very, very few voices in the media-blog intersection who actually gives a damn about the noxious misogyny that has been unleashed during this campaign season. His latest piece at Media Matters, centered around the Times' recent profile of Chris Matthews, is an absolute must-read:

What's so depressing for the journalism profession is that the Times profile barely takes a moment to even ponder what contribution, if any, Matthews is making to journalism. The article certainly doesn't suggest Matthews has a unique talent. Yes, he's ubiquitous on television and appears to have no filter between his brain and his mouth. He's also obnoxious and self-centered, which the article makes perfectly clear. But those are personality flaws, not journalism skills.

…Matthews is hot because he dumps all over Hillary Clinton, saying rude, sexist, and demeaning things about her week after week, and the Beltway media crowd thinks its edgy and insightful and loves to watch.

…Yes, that sort of behavior is problematic and inappropriate for the host of a political news program. (Am I not stating the obvious here?) But what the media conveniently ignore is the hateful, gender-based language Matthews uses to describe prominent (Democratic) women. It's behavior commonly referred to as misogyny.

Most of his examples aren't even included in my 76-part series, which points to how maddeningly ubiquitous this shit really has been—and underscores what an utter, unforgivable scandal the progressive blogosphere's relative silence on it truly is.

Go read the whole thing.