News and opinion—that’s what we expect from the media, isn’t it? True, as is now apparent to most people without a vested interest in upholding the media mythology, the rigid separation of the two has long been sacrificed to the thrill of doing one’s bit to make the world a better place—which, in the opinion of many journalists, is what they have made their business. But what if there is a third thing which is neither news nor opinion but something which has now come to claim an equal place beside them—if not to supersede them—as the media’s stock in trade? Consider the following passage from The New York Times’s “Opinionator” blog by Timothy Egan headed “Billionaires Unleashed”:

Then there are the Koch brothers, David and Charles, who’ve given to cancer research and the arts, yes, but also pour millions into efforts to keep average workers from getting a fair shake, and against laws that protect clean water and air. They plan to spend millions more in next year’s election to support policies that ensure the gap between rich and poor grows ever bigger.

I feel confident in saying that it is not really Mr. Egan’s opinion that the Koch brothers are using their money “to keep average workers from getting a fair shake” or to dirty up the air and water or to make the gap between rich and poor larger. He might be an idiot, I suppose, but I doubt it. Given a