Sunday, July 02, 2006

Journamalism

Murdoch's rag in London:

“Any payola allegations or some quid pro quo deal involving Markos and myself are complete fabrications,” Armstrong responded on the web last week. The two bloggers believe it is revenge for their success as opinion-formers, which in the words of a friend “has freaked out a lot of people”.

Moulitsas himself has said little about the controversy, short of rubbishing The New Republic and other critics. In an e-mail to supporters, he suggested: “It would make my life easier if we confine the story . . . let’s starve it of oxygen.”


The email in question had absolutely nothing about any "controversy" regarding "payola allegations" or "quid pro quo" deals, and was only about Jerome Armstrong's SEC issues.

My favorite bit was this actually:

“It’s the French revolution on the internet,” remarked Walter Shapiro, Washington bureau chief of the online magazine Salon, who believes Moulitsas has a poor record of picking winners. “These people were nothing a few years ago and now they’re being courted. Of course they’re supporting those who suck up to them the most.”


"Of course" says Walter Shapiro, because in his world people "of course" end up "supporting those who suck up to them the most." Washington types continue to imagine a hierarchical top-down world where it's all about the money, access, and political star fucking because that's their world. If that's the world Markos wanted to live in he'd sell his new Berkeley home for a nice Washington condo so he could have his ass kissed 24 hours per day.

One doesn't even know how to begin to really defend against this kind of crap. Markos's never tried to be the best at "picking winners." If that's what he tried to do he'd head down to Vegas and make some bets. If the goal was to pick winners I'd ask you all to contribute to the re-election camapigns of Senators Kennedy and Clinton. Those who keep imagining "Kosola" should take a gander at Kos's ad rates and notice that he's imagined to set up an incredibly lucrative business which doesn't really require skimming a few grand from politicians.