Posts tagged as Politico
New Media As Petty As Old Media
That Buzzfeed's Ben Smith can't use his own name at his new job, due to his "exit agreement" with his last employer, Politico, is hysterical. Get a grip! Also making the rounds: digital media jobs in "journalism" that require a drug test. How crazy are these people? (But yes, if you want to work at Gannett or NBC or what have you, be prepared to be degraded and give up your rights.) Drug-testing is maybe—maybe!—for people who operate forklifts or drive trucks, so they don't kill us all while baked. Even then, though.... Well, drug-testing is a real bad look for organizations that want independent, American-minded employees. Anyway, even pettier is that Politico won't link to Buzzfeed in his bio on their site, for his weekly columns. GOOD STUFF.
Mike Allen Polling the Electorate
Florida's Republican primary is tomorrow (AKA two weeks ago, since everyone votes in advance or by absentee ballot or from beyond/near the grave), and so the Mainstream Media is yucking it up in the Republican districts! For instance here is Politico's Mike Allen in South Beach today with some likely Republican voters (including a fellow named BurgerBillionz) who are having a 6 a.m. nightcap-dinner while "Morning Joe" prepares to live-broadcast. (Which looks less interesting.) Word of advice: don't actually eat at Jerry's Deli. (Picture by MSNBC's Lauren Skowronski.)
"William McKinley was elected after a passing crowd glimpsed him through an upper window of a nunnery."
"Politico isn't after a plausible story, it's after the Narrative—the things that lawmakers, lobbyists, and veterans of previous administrations say to reporters in background conversations to explain how history would be different, if only the people in charge were as smart as they are. Barack Obama is a prisoner of his monstrous ego and blind self-confidence, and that is why Blanche Lincoln lost in Arkansas."
Newly Fewer-Limbed Roger Simon Wins Morning By Joking About Winning Morning
Q: There must be a psychological aspect to what you are going through. How are you handling all this? READ MORE
Mike Allen, Revealed! Okay Not Really.
"Over by the jambalaya, Alan Greenspan picked up some Mardi Gras beads and placed them around the neck of his wife, NBC's Andrea Mitchell, who bristled and quickly removed them." That's the second most-fascinating moment of this coming Sunday's New York Times mag cover story on Politico's Mike Allen. (The disclosure about how the reporter of the piece intimately knows and has worked with everyone involved is the third-most interesting moment, no doubt.) Well, there are probably criticisms to be made of this piece from all sorts of angles-the Times commenters all seem baffled but in different ways, mostly depending on their political orientation. But I couldn't help but I feel I just hadn't learned anything about the general from the very specific that is digital-age Mike Allen. READ MORE
Erik Wemple To Do Politico-Metro!
Longtime Washington City Paper editor Erik Wemple is leaving his job to go off and win the mornings.
Do As Politico Says
It takes a certain amount of testicularity to say something like this with a straight face-if indeed their faces were straight-so you've got to admire the top brass at Politico for this one: "We know we're part of the problem – and we'll surely continue to run stories about [Sarah Palin.] But – we're looking at you, top newspaper editors and network executives – listen to your grumbling political reporters when they try to tell you why going overboard on the Hockey Mom beat isn't wise." I mean, they're not gonna, but you totally should.
Politico Blows The Lid Off Of Chattergate
Fresh from their groundbreaking analysis of how frequently journalists chuckle during Robert Gibbs' press conferences, Politico scores another coup today, analyzing nearly all of the 250,000,000 words President Obama has uttered since taking office. They find that Obama uses the word "terrorism" far less often than his predecessor, and uses the words "health" and "economy" far more often. He's the Basil Fawlty of American politics! DOESN'T HE KNOW THERE ARE TWO WARS GOING ON? Other stunning findings: "The president has said 'basketball' 33 times, but 'hockey' only once." Pretty damn revealing, don't you think?
