For me, it is far simpler than that. If you went to a dentist, and his teeth were rotten, you'd question whether you wanted him/her all in your mouth. If you saw the state of a builder's own house, you would think about whether you'd want him doing yours. In theory, neither should be a reflection of their ability to do their job. But we are a society in which perception matters. To me the same applies to journalists, amongst other professions, particularly when dealing with opinions on integrity.
You can decide it doesn't matter to you, as an individual. Great. But to the wider public, it just does, and it is not unfair pointing that out, and imo it is naive to pretend or argue otherwise. The old Wilde quote 'only the shallow don't judge by appearences' is as relevant today as it always was.
There's fuck all happening at the moment, so I don't feel that uncomfortable with a remark on something more general that we consciously stopped at the time.
