As Media Matters has reported, Media Research Center VP Dan Gainor has offered $100 to the first person who “punches smary [sic] idiot Alan Grayson in the nose.” When chastised by a fellow conservative for offering to “finance violence,” Gainor claimed to be kidding but added “I'd love to see the video” of Congressman Grayson being punched.

Now, you're probably thinking that a person who runs around offering to finance violent assaults on members of Congress probably doesn't get taken particularly seriously as a media critic. But Dan Gainor seems to be the favorite media critic of Washington Post ombudsman Andrew Alexander, who rarely cites ideological media critics by name -- but who has written two pieces in the past four months that prominently feature interviews with Gainor. And as far as I can tell, Gainor is the only professional ideological media critic Alexander has interviewed for a column or blog post this year. (I've found only one other such critic cited by name in an Alexander column or blog post this year: In May, Alexander extensively quoted a blog post by Gainor's colleague Tim Graham. You could add Andrew Breitbart to the conservative-heavy list if you consider him primarily a media critic.)

Last month, I explained that Alexander favors the arguments of right-wing media critics over their liberal counterparts. One way he does so is in his framing of criticism of the Post. If the Post does something that conservatives don't like, Alexander tends to note that conservatives don't like it, and that it contributes to their skepticism of the Post. But when Alexander writes about something the Post does that liberals criticize, Alexander doesn't mention them -- and certainly doesn't indicate that it may contribute to their skepticism of the Post. For example:

Alexander's column about Post reporter Dana Milbank calling Hillary Clinton a “bitch” didn't contain so much as a hint that the episode might damage the paper's credibility among liberals, or that liberals might already have some complaints about the paper that would be exacerbated by Milbank's video. No liberals were quoted or paraphrased; there wasn't even any mention that liberals were unhappy about Milbank's stunt. Contrast that to Alexander's write-up of [David] Weigel's departure from the Post, in which the Alexander dedicated four full paragraphs to the complaints of the conservative Media Research Center's Dan Gainor.

Four paragraphs!

But that isn't the only time Alexander has favored Gainor with such prominent placement. In his March 21 column, Alexander devoted two paragraphs to Gainor's criticism of the Post's coverage of DC's move towards marriage equality -- and seemed to agree with Gainor's broad criticism of the Post:

And the conservative Culture and Media Institute said its review showed that in the week after March 3, The Post coverage totaled 543 column inches (“equal to nearly four full pages”) and included 14 photos of “gay celebrations.” Supporters of same-sex marriage were quoted 10 times more than opponents, the group said.

“As soon as this became law, it was basically The Washington Post standing up and saying 'Yay!' ” Dan Gainor, the group's vice president, said in an interview. “It's news,” he acknowledged, but the coverage was excessive and “one-sided.” Conservatives see it as evidence that The Post is hopelessly liberal, he said.

The Post is not always sufficiently attuned to conservative perspectives. But with gay marriage coverage, the accusations of journalistic overkill are off base.

It seems the Post's Ombudsman is excessively attuned to the perspective of at least one conservative -- a conservative who offers cash for violent assault on a member of congress. (Good luck finding Alexander writing anything like “The Post is not always sufficiently attuned to liberal perspectives,” by the way.)