ShortFormBlogthe washington post Archives

55% of people polled say that they think government isn’t paying attention to the big issues
80% of Republcians say that the government’s priorities are completely misplaced
20%think it may not even be possible for the government to be run efficiently source

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There are more tools than ever to check things out, but once things start flying at light speed as it did with Sherrod, nobody seems able to hit the pause button.
Politicifact.com editor Bill Adair • Regarding the speed of the news cycle and how quickly it can flip. The best example of this is how, at the beginning of last week, The Washington Post made a bold bid to grab the week’s news cycle with their “Top Secret America” series, only to have it quickly pushed aside by Andrew Breitbart and Tucker Carlson, who each scored cycle-grabbing headlines with much less work and much bigger payoff. And unlike the Post’s meticulously-checked series, some of the info Breitbart in particular had was straight-up wrong. And now this Wikileaks story proves it even more – the Web can own the news cycle far more easily than old-school media. And the old-school media, for good and bad, has to play catch-up. source

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Some respected blogger just dropped Dave Wiegel in acid. Wiegel, a blogger/reporter for The Washington Post (disclosure: we work for the Washington Post Express, a subsidiary) resigned after a colleague on Ezra Klein’s JournoList, a private e-mail network for 400 mostly-liberal bloggers to vent about stuff, leaked that Wiegel said some not-nice things about the conservative movement he covered in his job. We don’t know the inner-workings of this e-mail network. But we do know it has numerous big names we know and respect. Further thoughts:

A total hit jobNow, we don’t quite think it’s entirely wise to suggest that Matt Drudge “light himself on fire,” like Wiegel did, but we do think it’s completely unfair that one of his colleagues ratted him out. It screams vendetta. It screams “dirty politics,” except with bloggers.
Journolist: A bad ideaLook, it’s great that journalists and bloggers talk to one another, but the idea of a giant, exclusive club gives the impression of a level of elitism – and slant opportunities – that journalism simply shouldn’t have. Especially when things like this happen. Keep it open.
old media’s divideTrust us: The next job Wiegel gets will be at a blog, not a newspaper. Why? Because the issues that cropped up prove that large newspapers don’t necessarily understand the nature of blogging. And that’s a bad thing. Especially for their futures. source

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We will not participate in events where promises are made that in exchange for money The Post will offer access to newsroom personnel or will refrain from confrontational questioning. Our independence from advertisers or sponsors is inviolable.
Marcus W. Brauchli • Executive editor of The Washington Post, talking about a report in Politico about a series of “salons” to offered lobbyists access to Washington Post journalists in exchange for their soul … er, money. The first meeting was reported to be at the publisher’s house July 21, and was going to have Post reporters, Obama administration officials and Congressmen. Word is that the flyer for the event leaked early and without proper vetting, and it was likely a marketing person’s vision. In other words, someone’s getting yelled at in a boardroom right now. (Disclosure: ShortFormBlog editor Ernie Smith is affiliated with The Washington Post’s Express, but the blog itself has no ties to The Post, nor does it express the opinions of the company.) • source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

He has a job! A few of you asked, so we’ll answer. Starting today, Ernie will be working at Express, a free daily newspaper published by The Washington Post. It’s his third free daily newspaper in a row, but it’s also the biggest. He’s excited about the opportunity and plans to use his info-breakdown roots as much as he can.

He has a job! A few of you asked, so we’ll answer. Starting today, Ernie will be working at Express, a free daily newspaper published by The Washington Post. It’s his third free daily newspaper in a row, but it’s also the biggest. He’s excited about the opportunity and plans to use his info-breakdown roots as much as he can.
What he left behind He does it with a heavy heart. He wasn’t exactly looking to leave his adopted hometown of Norfolk, Va., but he did it because the opportunity made a lot of sense. He’s done a lot of moving in the last few years, and the last place felt like home. He already misses his favorite coffee shop, Elliot’s Fair Grounds. Sigh.

He has a job! A few of you asked, so we’ll answer. Starting today, Ernie will be working at Express, a free daily newspaper published by The Washington Post. It’s his third free daily newspaper in a row, but it’s also the biggest. He’s excited about the opportunity and plans to use his info-breakdown roots as much as he can.
What he left behind He does it with a heavy heart. He wasn’t exactly looking to leave his adopted hometown of Norfolk, Va., but he did it because the opportunity made a lot of sense. He’s done a lot of moving in the last few years, and the last place felt like home. He already misses his favorite coffee shop, Elliot’s Fair Grounds. Sigh.
But don’t worry … ShortFormBlog is still a priority of his and he plans to keep it going as long as he can. The nature of it may change slightly – to focus on interest and intrigue over the immediacy of a news cycle – but it’s gonna stick around. He may even bring on more staffers. Stay tuned to this dial …

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10 Oct 2010 11:19