Look, I get it. Sales figures are declining. Online ad revenue sucks. This whole fragmented media environment thing hasn’t exactly been gangbusters for business. That Internet video experiment flamed out faster than a Roman candle.
But I can’t hate on you for experimenting. Times are tough, and a new business environment probably demands a new approach to news gathering. And I wish you all the best. Really, I do. Unlike some folks, I have a lot of respect for the good work you put out on a regular basis. I shudder to think what life in the District and Northern Virginia would be like without Post beat reporters. Other than the occasional beef with your op-ed page, I honestly think you put out a fine product.
But this latest gimmick is just . . . silly. After a year or two in the blogosphere, I’ve belatedly realized that the last thing we need is another jack-of-all-trades commentator. I mean, we’re dealing with an embarrassment of riches in that department. Everyone and their mother seems to have an opinion, a WordPress account, and access to Google. It’s been fun, but I think amateur punditry is rapidly reaching the point of diminishing returns. Except for my co-bloggers, that is. They’re still money.
But aside from all the wannabe pundits and amateur conspiracy theorists, the Internet has also managed to draw a bunch of experts out of the woodwork. Think tankers, economists, and lawyers – you name it, they all have blogs now. And they write. All. The. Time. It’s almost as if they enjoy sharing their expertise with the rest of us in an open, unmediated forum. These days, I don’t have to rely on a Post beat writer to pull a few quotes from expert X on crisis Y – I can just fire up my RSS feed and check out expert X’s (frequently updated) blog for his or her totally comprehensive opinion.
So here’s my proposal. Instead of giving away valuable column space to some schmuck who can plausibly construct an opinion on every imaginable topic in one week or less, why not try giving one of these quirky expert types a shot? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a few financial analysts on-hand the next time a global financial crisis hits? What about a military guy to explain this whole War on Terrorism business? (Wait, you just canned Tom Ricks?) Or a lawyer, to parse the latest torture memos?
If I was running the show, I’d probably draft Jim Manzi. Or that bald dude from Rortybomb. I think you’re better off with either of those guys than a pale George Will imitator. But maybe that’s just me.
Love,
Will
oh crimany.what maroons. The wapo op-ed is regularly , and correctly IMHO, slammed for bias, factual errors and shallowness. but this raises the bar for stupid.
I think you hit on a major area where the MSM has missed the boat, is drowning and doesn’t even know it. They seem to be stuck with the idea of do-it-all pundits. The rise of the intertoobz has led to great opportunities to hear directly from experts in all sorts of areas. A few years ago i started to read Pat Lang’s blog. While he is far from me politically, getting serious analysis from a military and intell expert beats the poo out of any one size fits all pundit. In almost every field their are experts who are already blogging.Report
Hey, I just sent my application into the NYT. I offered my services re: the goings-on on Beck and Limbaugh, e.g. daily reports so they won’t miss a story such as the ACORN business. And, for a reasonable price. I’ll let you know what they tell me…!Report
Have them contact me Bob; I’ll give you a reference. I think you’d make a great NYT columnist. You’d pour scorn on that whippersnapper Douhat and throw shoes at Brooks while bullying Krugman to find his hidden stash of Cuban cigars. They could call it Cheeks Corner or maybe Bob on the Porch and your byline could be “Hang em all!” You’d be a commentator’s commentator for the discriminating paleoconservative.Report
What’s say you and I pitch an intertoob show to ’em of you and me going back and forth about the doctrinal mind interspersed with comments like “palsy-boy”, “friend-o-mine” and commentary on “gummint”, “libruls”, “essentialism”, “political ontology”, and “beaver pelts”?
I think it’s got the right…. flare, shall we say?Report
Hey, you guys, I think we’ve hit on the big one. A news/opinion show where you guys can be “fair minded, tolerant libruls,’ puttin’ up with this generations’ Archie Bunker who blurts out societal, political, and philosophical truths to our undereducated audience while hurling insults at our derailed and maniacal managerial elite.
I’ll let you know what the NYT says. I pitched the application as an effort to “save the olde Grey Lady.” So far I haven’t gotten a reply?Report
I may be “librul” but even I think the Times wouldn’t know a good idea if it walked up and smacked em in the face.Report
Do they specify that they want a pretend-to-be-expert-on-everything commentator? I saw this yesterday and figured a Dave-Berry-ish smart, humorous take on current events would probably stand the best chance of winning. WaPo needs a Dowd and it would be preferable if, unlike her, the WaPo’s version was actually funny – “Once the Hammer tried to outfox Democrats. Now he’s trying to outfox-trot Donny Osmond.” – shudder.
Really they should just use the money to hire someone with the balls to tell George Will that his facts aren’t straight now and again before it goes to press and he’s forced to defend his intellectual integrity.Report
Would I be chastised for entering, do ya think?Report
They wouldn’t let a Canadian do it. Didn’t you read Freddie’s post on illegal immigrants? Just because most of the illegal immigrants come from the south doesn’t mean that we’ll turn a blind eye to interlopers from America’s Mexico to the north.Report
I’ll ply them with maple syrup. No one can resist the temptation of sticky, syrupy love. Not even the Washington Post.Report
Well they’re supposed to be right wing capitalists so they should be wide open to bribery. Try hiding a few grand in the maple syrup and they should be all over you like Oprah on a baked ham.Report
Oh you silly. Oprah doesn’t eat ham, she’s a Muslim – like Obama. Sheesh…Report
They’ve already got a pale George Will imitator. He’s called “George Will”.Report
He just hasn’t been the same since he dropped the bow tie…Report
My keyboard! You ruined my keyboard Mike!! *fistshake*Report
That’s it. From now on, I’m sending all of my anti-anti-vaccination screeds to WaPo. Report