New York Times executive editor Bill Keller is none too happy with Richard Posner's recent review of several books on the media, calling the essay "tendentious and cynical." The catch? The Posner review appeared in Keller's own paper — as does Keller's letter to the editor.

Was Posner's review so bad? Readers can judge for themselves. Here is the review essay, titled "Bad News," and here is Keller's letter, along with reponses from Bill Moyers and Eric Alterman, among others.

UPDATE: Powerline's Big Trunk comments here. Of note, Keller complains that Posner discounts the ability of "conscientious reporters and editors" to set aside their personal beliefs to produce fair and honest journalism. Yet it was not so long ago that Keller himself observed that "even sophisticated readers of The New York Times sometimes find it hard to distinguish between news coverage and commentary in our pages."

UPDATE: Dan Drezner has more thoughts here. [Link should be working now.]