Monday, January 12, 2009

I wonder

I wonder if anyone at Pajamas Media will come out with a scathing critique of the choice to send Joe the Plumber to Israel? Any dissenters in the line-up?

Have I missed one?'

UPDATE: Commenter Friar Zero has directed our attention to Balloon Juice. I stand corrected, mildly relieved, and waiting for more like-news. Thank you, Friar Zero and John Cole!

UPDATE II: Mark points to this item at PJM.
I have no objection to this internet sensation seeking to extend his fifteen minutes of fame. By all means, write a book, hit the Sunday morning chat circuit, or even run for Congress. These are opportunities for any American and Mr. Wurzelbacher should feel free to pursue them all. But we should probe a bit deeper into Joe’s qualifications as a war correspondent, as this is generally not the first assignment a cub reporter pulls upon joining a network. We might expect him to have a command of, or at least a passing familiarity with the languages spoken by the locals. He should be well versed in the history of the conflict, the primary participants, and the leading power figures. Lastly, as a reporter, we would expect an engaging figure on camera, exuding competence and armed with excellent communication skills in his native tongue. Have we any signs of this?
Good question. I think the answer is rather obvious....

5 comments:

Friar Zero said...

Does Balloon Juice count?

http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=15522

Roland Dodds said...

God, I can’t believe they were advertising this so much across the web. I have nothing against “Joe the Plumber” as a guy, and I have no problem getting an “average Joe’s” take on a conflict, but is this really the best reporter Pajamas could get to report on something as complex as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

If this is the alternative independent media is offering, I’ll take corporate CNN any day of the week.

E.D. Kain said...

Roland, no kidding! It's sad, really. Why not send Michael Totten or Michael Yon or one of the really brilliant indie-journalists? Yon could get the "soldier's take" you know?

But that wouldn't draw the attention that JTP draws...so there it is. Just another gimmick.

Anonymous said...

I don't know that it's scathing, but PJM actually did publish a pretty unambiguous critique of the experiment from Jazz Shaw this morning:
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/no-joe-wurzelbacher-is-not-edward-r-murrow/

E.D. Kain said...

Thanks, Mark. My faith in humanity is still alive, if only just...