Snowstorm Fallout
No matter how unbiased a journalist attempts to be, she can't give both sides of the story if only one side speaks on the record. Refusing to speak to the media makes sense if you're someone like a politician outed for having a Magic 8-ball listed among your salary-collecting staff, but I was writing about a bill that passed in Congress by a ratio of 404 to 6, so it's weird that I found more speakers among the six than the four hundred: One-point-five (a bona-fide Congressman and a Congressional spokesperson) versus zero.
Naturally, a giant snowstorm hit New England the day scheduled for the Congressman's call. So I figured: I made several dozen calls for this article, and for one such call drove over seven hours in a snowstorm. Damn right I'm linking to the result.
So there.
Naturally, a giant snowstorm hit New England the day scheduled for the Congressman's call. So I figured: I made several dozen calls for this article, and for one such call drove over seven hours in a snowstorm. Damn right I'm linking to the result.
So there.
posted by Jennifer Abel at 3:20 PM
9 Comments:
Nice article, now I'm wondering exactly what the bill says. I mean seriously if it's so innocent why does no one want to talk about it?
Great article showing what buffoons we have in Congress.
BTW, I e-mailed a link to Matt Welch, suggesting that the Reason Hit&Run should blog about this topic and link to your article.
I have long felt that you need to have a national audience and free range to pick your topics. Like Buchwald (so many years ago) you have a way of writing humorously about serious subjects. I pray (literally) that you will get a gig as a national columnist.
I have long felt that you need to have a national audience and free range to pick your topics.
Thank you! That is absolutely my career goal. This story almost never made it to print; I had to keep begging and pleading until my boss (hoping to shut me up) finally told me I could do a very small story about it. I got more space for the story later, because I guess the boss figured if a big-name guy like Kucinich was willing to speak to someone from a paper as obscure as ours, that MUST mean there's something to the story.
Jennifer,
Matt Welch at Reason Hit&Run has just blogged about and linked to your article. I got an e-mail from him thanking me for the heads-up.
NoStar
Oh, how awesome. Thank you, nostar!
It was worth the drive, definitely. Even though (I have since discovered) I lost one of the fancy brass buttons off the particular coat I wore that day.
IF RON PAUL SUPPORTERS CAN RAISE 6 MILLION DOLLARS, WHY CAN'T FERAL GENIUS READERS SEND JENNIFER NEW BRASS BUTTONS FOR HER COAT???
Seems like a worth cause to me.
Best set up a PO Box address, Jen.
worthy* cause
Of course, now I have to stay away from Hit and Run for awhile because it's bad form to comment on your own story. But I just got a new book from the library tonight--the final book in Harry Turtledove's 12- or 15- or million-volume series about an alternate universe where the Confederacy wins.
I know I'm a little late to the party, but ,damn girl, you can write.
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