Here’s Yer ‘Blog, Humbug,’ Pal
Apr 23rd, 2006 at 12:47 pm by Susie
While waiting for my clothes to dry, I did something I do much less often these days: Read the Sunday Inquirer - on paper. The front page of the Currents section (the former News & Views, I think) is themed “Can we live without newspapers?” and includes the piece Jeff Jarvis did on the norgs conference, something from Hugh Hewitt and from Rick Stengel, CEO of the National Constitution Center.
Inside was this snippy little piece from staffer right-wing hack Jonathan Last.
If I were his editor, I would have made him rewrite it. (But then, I always was conscientious that way.)
But the biggest evil of blogs is that first flaw, blogging’s original sin: the discounting of news-gathering in favor of news analysis. Bloggers are forever telling us how easy journalism is, yet very few of them have ever really practiced it. Sure, they may have written opinion pieces that compare favorably to the work of Molly Ivins or Ann Coulter, but opinion writing is a tiny - and let’s be honest, inconsequential - corner of the journalism world. Real journalism - the practice of adding to the store of public knowledge by reporting news - is a difficult, thankless, and often unpleasant task. Bloggers want no part of it. Everyone wants E.J. Dionne’s job; no one wants to be Michael Dobbs.
There is really no excuse for this kind of “straw man” silliness, and part of the problem is that Last makes no distinction whatsoever between the left and right blogosphere. This is akin to confusing professional wrestling with the Olympic event.
Plus, it’s such lazy, half-assed writing. (Maybe his laundramat has wifi, too. Maybe he had one eye out for an open dryer as he wrote this extended pout.) “Bloggers are forever telling us how easy journalism is”? Which bloggers, Mr. Last? How many? When? Can you find any on the left side of the top-ranked blogsphere who say journalism is easy? (I know I’ve pointed out how a story should be done on many occasions - but then again, I’m an award-winning journalist with 20 years’ experience.)
Another worry is that, as a medium, the blog does not value well-crafted writing. Except for Mark Steyn and James Lileks, it’s hard to pick out even three beautiful writers from the millions of bloggers.
And here’s where we figure it out. Mark Steyn? James Lileks? (Yes, that James Lileks.)
Don’t get out and around the liberal blogosphere too often, do you, Jonathan? (Which bolsters my perpetual argument about the sheer laziness of reporters. It’s been a few years since conservative blogs truly dominated the landscape, and yet some journalists are still referring to the same old bookmarks. See, once you’re in their Rolodex, virtual or otherwise, that’s it.)
Again, the fault here lies with the medium: Being a good writer helps a blogger about as much as a good singing voice helps a broadcast anchor.
Well, Jonathan, say what you will in light of your apparently limited experience, but I find some of the writing here in Koufaxville absolutely stunning. Since you haven’t read or perhaps even heard of Michael Berube, James Wolcott, Fred Clark, The Fat Lady Sings, Echidne or Neddie - let alone Will Bunch, your new downstairs neighbor, I’ll assume you’re one of those opinion writers you mention who don’t like to do the hard work of actually reporting and “adding to the store of public knowledge,” as you put it.
If you really don’t believe well-written words have power to move the debate, perhaps you should look into another line of work.
And besides, you have so thoroughly missed the point, probably because you are unconversant with the liberal blogsophere. As I pointed out at the conference of which Jeff Jarvis wrote today, the guiding principles of liberal bloggers are much closer to those of ethical journalism - as opposed to the right wing blogworld, where they don’t think twice about fabricating “truthiness” to support their politics.
Lefty blogs don’t even pretend to think blogs should supplant journalism - it’s the nuts on your side who claim Captain Ed is more credible than Dan Rather. But we do supplement what journalists do, much in the same way a movie critic tells readers what may be a waste of their time and money.
One of the guiding tenets of Koufaxville is that we are the readers’ guide, the antidote, as it were - to the 24/7 cable news feeding frenzy. It wasn’t liberal blogs (well, okay, there were a few, but not many) who were urging us to attack Iraq in light of the propaganda being spoon-fed to the American public - by your beloved media establishment, as I recall. Isn’t that right, Jonathan?
There is no war between liberal blogs and principled journalism. We’re the ones fighting against the corporate statism that puts profits so far above principles because of our deep respect for what journalism can accomplish.
And if you read more than the same handful of blogs, you’d know that.
UPDATE: Turns out Last is only the latest conservative hack hired to write op-eds for the Inquirer. Because God knows, we can use yet another conservative local voice! (Thanks, Chris!)
A-MEN, Susie!
Perhaps we should collect, and send Jonathon a set of new links to augment his out-dated, and obsolete “rolodex.”
I know that you pointed him to Koufax-ville, but, perhaps he needs the individual links… You know, make it SO easy for his lazy self to access, that he can’t NOT read them.
I’ll start with one of the best:
Orcinus (David Neiwert): http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/
David’s writing is fantastic, in-depth, and unimpeachable.
Billmon’s Whiskey Bar: http://billmon.org/
His ability to let the News Playa’s tell the story puts him in a class alone.
The Brad Blog: http://www.bradblog.com/
Brad has been ON THE eVoting issue forever, and putting out incredible reporting.
and then there are
Bitch PhD: http://bitchphd.blogspot.com/
Who can write pure beauty when she’s fully riled.
Digby: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/
Is incredible, and an old friend, albeit overlinked, and rapidly falling into the inbred family of top-tier bloggers. I read more Digby at FDL and Eschaton then at Hullabaloo (and vis-avis-avis), and I find that in-breeding deeply troubling, as lazy people like Jonathan are only getting a tiny handful of voices to reference.
I’d also recommend Driftglass: http://driftglass.blogspot.com/
Such inciteful writing deserves as broad an audience as possible… But, the Big 3 rarely give DG a place in the wings, let alone the spotlight.
Finally, when Don Waller: http://blah3.com has time to get his writing on, he’s simply incredible.
I could go on, but, let’s leave room for others.
–mf
Right on, Susie. Let me add one thing to what you wrote: the idea that a journalist is either a reporter or a columnist misses one of the very important roles of journalism, and one which bloggers are almost all practitioners of - editing. The choice of what to cover (or what to cover prominently, anyway) and what not to cover forms one of the most important roles of journalism. For the obvious example, see the coverage of stories like Natalee Holloway et al. in so much of the corporate media, vs. the lack of coverage of other more important stories (i.e., pretty much every other story).
Just to pick one example, here’s a story I coveraged a couple days ago at Left I on the News about Shirin Ebadi, Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner, saying “We will not allow an American soldier to set foot [in Iran]. We will defend our country till the last drop of blood,” which I picked up from the Guardian. The story did rate a mention in a few (very few) American print media outlets, but I saw no evidence of it whatsoever on any of the TV stations, networks or cable. They didn’t consider it worth mentioning. I did.
Or this story, about American activists working in Tel Rumeida, Hebron, Palestine, trying to both stop and document violence by the racist, right-wing Israeli settlers against the Palestinian population. Very much a newsworthy story…to me. Certainly not to the corporate media, who haven’t breathed a word of it.
Editing. Choice of stories. So very important, and so easily overlooked.
me thinks he doth protest too much.
but then, shakespeare wasn’t a r-e-a-l writer. probably a blogger.
(and shakespeare’s sister?)
I forgot the best example of editing I’ve had recently. On April 11, Iranian President Ahmadinejad gave a speech. Every single media outlet, print and broadcast, informed their readers/viewers about his statement about how Iran had “joined the nuclear club.” Except for C-SPAN, which actually broadcast the speech to its few thousand viewers, NOT ONE, to the best of my knowledge, reported on the rest of that speech, in which Ahmadinejad delivered a clear renunciation of nuclear weapons, not just some kind of pro forma renunciation but laying out clearly the reasons why they neither want nor need nuclear weapons. The ONLY place you could read that was, as far as I know, on my blog, Left I on the News, where the transcript, which I had to prepare myself from the C-SPAN video, could be found.
Editorial judgment is every bit as important as any other aspect of journalism.
I wanted to thank you for mentioning me in the same breath as so many wonderful writers. It was indeed an honor for my work to be Koufax nominated; especially considering the quality and quantity of writing available on the web. As for Jonathan Last; I read his attempt at qualifying the blogasphere. The phrases ’sadly misinformed’ and ‘existing prejudice’ immediately leaps to mind. But he’s not alone in attempting to marginalize progressive political thought. Oh - he pays lip service to dissing conservative bloggers; but it is the left he quite merrily burns at the stake. Your defense is brilliantly on point. Bravo!
What an idiot. WHat an asshole. I am, if not THE authority on beautiful writing, one of them, and the SHEER MASTERY of WRITING I have enjoyed in the blogoshere is both mind-boggling and awe-inspiring. Just reading through all the Koufax awards nominations for Best Post was superior in reading bliss to ANYTHING I have read in the print media, which, among other things, is dumbed down to a 4th grade education level. (Lest we forget that print media made that GREAT decision in the eighties….for which, as an adult, I have never forgiven them.) (Well the NEWSPAPERS.) Among the truly ABLE TO WRITE BEAUTIFULLY is our host SUSIE MADRAK; I predict the blogosphere TAKING OVER the print media, because it is both utilizing (for free, mostly, alas) the BEST WRITERS GOING, and, duh, you can actually get the REAL news !!
Susie,
Is this the same Jonathan Last who was the online editor for the Weekly Standard? Does the Inquirer identify him as a conservative, which in this day and age is synonymous with Right Wing Hack and Propagandist?
Lance, I don’t know. Sounds like him, though. I assumed he was an Inky staffer because they listed an Inky email address for him.
Beautiful writers? Now that’s some sloppy writing right there. Though I suppose if you spend enough time at the pub, that Mark Steyn fellow could begin to look good. He’s a manly sort.
@Lance/Susie:
Last writes in the 2nd graph:
“I’ve been the online editor of the Weekly Standard (www.weeklystandard.com) since 2001″
Well, if your experience with stand-up comedy ranges from Dennis Miller to Colin Quinn, ou might come to the conclusion that stand-up comedy is in terrible shape.
If you are looking for truly moving lovely writing, dont forget
http://bodyandsoul.typepad.com/ .
Currently on hiatus, but archives still active. Also there are people on the right who are decent writers; Jane Galt springs to mind.
Interesting that of the top 50 bloggers in the US, 20 or so live in Philly. Yet the inky couldn’t gte someone like Duncan, Bowers, you, or anyone else on the line?
And why is it just right-wingers being invited? jeff jarvis and Hugh Hewitt? WTF?
Fuck the StInqy.
Yeah, Duncan always has insightful and interesting things to say about a topic like this - plus, he’s a senior fellow at Media Matters. Can’t imagine why they didn’t bother to ask him…
yeah, well look at the newspaper. the inky has been drifting right in the past few months. Ever read any of the vomit that Kevin Ferris calls his “column”?
On any given day at the Inky, the right outnumbers the left by 2-1, sometimes more.
What is it with Philly, anyway? I started my blog shortly after I left Philly, so I’m thinking it must have been some residuum from 7 years of drinking the water there that fermented in my bloodstream. Unfortunately, my new home state of Minnesota has the opposite distinction of fertilizing the fevered nonsense of some of the top right wing blogs — Powerline, Captain’s Quarters, and the twee little Lileks.
We get Lileks on a regular basis in our newspaper here. “Beautiful” isn’t the adjective that ever comes to mind.
And let’s not forget that there ARE bloggers who are ALSO journalists. Such as vous, Susie, Josh Marshall’s team, and others too numerous to mention.
And when I consider how many hack writers in the MSM there are, who seem never to have taken a history class, nor have risen beyond puffball PR pieces to anything resembling journalism, I’m pleased that the blogosphere provides academics, experts, satirists, and people experienced in multiple fields who add to our knowledge and understanding.
Jonathan Last can’t be taken seriously by anyone who enjoys journalism or op-eds if he can utter the names of Ivins and Coulter as if they could ever be equals in their prose or even in their capacity to report the facts.