It turns out that in his new role as a Sunday Post columnist, Milbank thinks a top priority is defending his employer. And so this week Milbank dedicates his entire column to push back against a recent, critical feature article in The New Republic that highlighted the newspaper's recent woes. (i.e. Shrinking newsroom and some monumental editorial blunders.) Milbank though, insists the Post is doing just fine:

This paper's management has no sure-fire strategy for success -- and neither does any other news organization. But it does have the deep pockets and determination to tough it out while this news outlet and others experiment with new business models for online news.

Dedicating an entire Post column to rebut a single magazine article is a rather odd. Indeed, when the Post recently tapped Milbank to be a high-profile Sunday columnist, the spin was that he'd do more “big picture analysis.” Suddenly hyping the Post's unique viewer count qualifies as big picture?

Also curious is that a bulk of TNR's story actually detailed the decline the Post's editorial product and its aimless newsroom leadership. But on those points Milbank remains silent.