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January 26, 2005
Where does he come up with this stuff?
So in the middle of a typical rant regarding suitcase atomic bombs, the Kirkus Review, The
Paris Review Book of Heartbreak, Madness, Sex, Love, Betrayal,
Outsiders, Intoxication, War, Whimsy, Horrors, God, Death, Dinner...
...Baseball, Travels, The Art of Writing, And Everything Else in the World Since 1953
yes... right in the middle of all that, Locke latches onto Hewitt's abortion made bookish, Blog, (not the title of a horror movie) the subject of my single foray into journalistic research, and guess what? He's as annoyed with it as I am.
Yes, I asked, I wheedled, I cajoled, I pleaded... pled... whatever... I attempted to get the big boy journos at the recent Blo-yo-cred conference to tell me just how Hewitt's book happened to be the only piece of schwag distributed at this otherwise high tone gathering. I mean these folks didn't get to take home as much as a cheesy t-shirt with a conference logo on it, yet there for any and all to stuff in their ditty-bags was a pile of Hewitt's books. I asked, did the conference hand these out? No answer. I asked, was it a private party who made them available? No answer. I was beginning to feel like Aunt Polly calling for Tom in the opening passage of Tom Sawyer.
Well, lacking the stick-to-it-iveness of a real professional, and not wanting to hector these poor folks further, I let the line of inquiry drop. But now that the CBO has surfaced the blackguard's book on his own, I feel compelled to ask again...
How did Hewitt's book happen to be distributed free at the Harvard conference on journalism and credibility?
January 26, 2005 | Permalink
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Comments
Infucking Credible!
Posted by: jeneane | Jan 26, 2005 1:34:02 PM
I'm not sure there'd be much of a story here.
Perhaps the publisher sent a bunch over as promos, nominally "reviewer copies".
Why would that be a scandal? Except perhaps an appearance of favoritism, but that hardly seems much.
Posted by: Seth Finkelstein | Jan 26, 2005 2:48:27 PM
The truth is often simple, even mundane. But for me there are some people who do not deserve a place at the table. Hewitt is one of these. So the Hewitt apologist who promotes his work will receive low marks from me.
Also, a simple answer to my serious question is all I am looking for:
"How did the work of Hugh Hewitt find its way into the Blogging, Journalism, and Credibilty" meetings?"
I have a hard time dragging an analogy forth... I'd like to ask "Would a similar give-away from been accepted and made available?" Matt Drudge? Father Coughlin? I can't come up with a fair analogy. But if the work was provided by a sponsor or a participant, and was not some aimless marketing over-the-transom spaghetti toss that stuck to the wall, then that would tell me more about the person or organization who provided it.
Posted by: fp | Jan 26, 2005 3:32:03 PM
Even with low marks in the offing, I'll risk asking another question (I could never hope to 'pass' in this esteemed class of bloggers anyway): Why does this matter? Honestly, I don't see why this would be any more irksome than having to drive past a McDonalds' after having seen "Supersize Me." Isn't it just reg'lar, plain ol cheesy marketing incidental to the point of the show?
Not like I'm any apologist -- just askin, presumptuously, on behalf of the jus' plain folk.
Posted by: memer | Jan 26, 2005 11:18:07 PM
It's black and white memer. No shades of gray. Go read Hewitt's blog.
Posted by: fp | Jan 27, 2005 9:11:44 AM
Ah. Gotcha now. I think I see the concern. Hm, yes, it's disturbing his blogs-as-end-around-msm (it's LIBERAL, don'tchaknow) schtick. We should be wary, cuz, y'know, consider the (right-biased) source and all that. But for some reason (ignorance, hubris, complacency, naievete?) I still can't get too worked up about this.
I mean, his is a hymnbook that appeals only to certain, very specific choirs. Innit? What is there to fear?
Posted by: mememomi | Jan 27, 2005 10:35:43 AM
Fear is far from the landscape. Encountering bullshit, great windmill shaped piles of bullshit, is my mission.
As it turns out, John Hinderaker - a friend of Hewitt - helped make it happen. Rebecca MacKinnon says that in retrospect they probably shouldn't have distributed it. By helping to surface the issues and catalyze that reflection I believe that I can safely say (much as Sergeant Preston of the Yukon used to say to his lead sled dog King): "Well, Rocinante... this case is closed."
http://www.rocinante.com/why_rocinante.html
Posted by: fp | Jan 27, 2005 1:13:23 PM
well done windmill chaser, now tally ho
for the shit still flies as the wind blows
hold firm your lance,
and only after dance
charge leading the light -- shishkebab them hos!
Posted by: memer | Jan 27, 2005 7:27:24 PM
All of this leads us to an important question: Is Hewitt Journalism? Is Journalism Hewitt? Is Hewitt's Blog a journalistic ploy?
Obviously the answer to all of the above is this:
"Hey, kids, let's put on a conference!"
"My dad's got a barn!"
"Fuck your dad's barn -- let's do it at a bigname university!"
And then they begin a blog, ask if barns are journalism, and why don't major universities offer a major in blogging, a sub, maybe, of their journalism schools?
That's a barnburner, eh?
Ya think maybe this Hewitt is related to the 60 Minutes honcho?
All the world's a blog . . .
Posted by: Dean Landsman | Jan 28, 2005 1:33:10 AM
