Monday, March 7, 2005
Blogging from the White House
On one hand, it's great that a blogger has received credentials to attend White House briefings (see report, here). On another hand, I have a couple of bones to pick or at least rub a little. One is that it's always is best when trailblazers are above reproach. In this case, good grammar is essential for someone who will be read closely and critically, but he writes in today's entry ("Off to the White House") that "we appear to have awoken [sic] in time". Another bone I'm fussing with is to wonder how far into the mainstream bloggers ought to wade if they/we want to hold onto maximum usefulness and impact. Bloggers occupy a kind of "shadow journalism" role in much the same way as the party out of power in parliamentary government. While it's important to obtain information as first-hand as possible (which means being included in briefings is good), it is also key to maintain skepticism and steer clear of "in" groups (which means being included in the press corps is bad).
The elevated blogger, Garrett Graff, writes with energy and a certain amount of authority in his blog, fishbowlDC, self-described as "a gossip blog that focuses on D.C. media." But the blog has only been up since January which makes one wonder why he is the chosen one. My guess is that his lucky break results at least partly from an ability to persuade and nag until he gets what he wants - an undeniable skill, if not the most germane. To support my theory, consider that his bio says that "[i]n college, he was a news writer and executive editor at the Harvard Crimson...where he wrote more news articles than any other writer in half-a-century [sic] and held internships at ABCNews' Political Unit and at the Atlantic Monthly" and that "he served formerly as deputy national press secretary on Howard Dean's presidential campaign and, beginning in 1997, [as] then-Governor Dean's first webmaster."
Anyway, good luck to Garrett and may he maintain a sense of distrust and disbelief, resist disrespect and rudeness, and write words that are golden, forceful, interesting, and widely read.
The elevated blogger, Garrett Graff, writes with energy and a certain amount of authority in his blog, fishbowlDC, self-described as "a gossip blog that focuses on D.C. media." But the blog has only been up since January which makes one wonder why he is the chosen one. My guess is that his lucky break results at least partly from an ability to persuade and nag until he gets what he wants - an undeniable skill, if not the most germane. To support my theory, consider that his bio says that "[i]n college, he was a news writer and executive editor at the Harvard Crimson...where he wrote more news articles than any other writer in half-a-century [sic] and held internships at ABCNews' Political Unit and at the Atlantic Monthly" and that "he served formerly as deputy national press secretary on Howard Dean's presidential campaign and, beginning in 1997, [as] then-Governor Dean's first webmaster."
Anyway, good luck to Garrett and may he maintain a sense of distrust and disbelief, resist disrespect and rudeness, and write words that are golden, forceful, interesting, and widely read.
Labels: blogs (others'), gwb, politics
Post a Comment