Dear Time Magazine: stuff it!
Today TIME magazine has an article about the Burner/Reichert race.
While I would ordinarily be delighted to see such high profile coverage of our little district, in this case the article can't be said to make a lot of sense. You can read it for yourself, or read the DailyKos analysis of it, but the suggestion in the article is that if Darcy loses this race, it will be the fault of the netroots.
Or in other words, me.
You see, I'm a blogger living in WA-08 who advocates all the time for Darcy Burner. So you'll understand if I take that just a little bit personally.
All the more when I consider the thick and acerbic irony of TIME Magazine, a bastion of the traditional media if ever there was one, making that claim.
Here's the thing: if Darcy loses it will be primarily because voters don't actually understand who she is and what she's all about, or conversely, who Dave Reichert is and what he's all about. And responsibility for any failing in that regard lies squarely at the feet of the traditional media.
Remember, it's THE MEDIA'S JOB to educate the public about the candidates over and above simply reporting what the candidates say about themselves and each other. There's a reason that the media, our independent, free American press, is called the "fourth estate".
While the legislative, judicial, and executive branches are the first three estates of government, and while they have their (increasingly useless) checks and balances between them, the media serves as an indispensable check on them. The media exists to hold the three estates of government accountable to the people.
Our Founding Fathers knew that slime grows in the dark. That's why they made an explicit point of writing freedom of expression and freedom of the press into our Constitution so that the media could, then and forever, shine light onto the operations of government for the American people to see.
So, TIME Magazine, when you tell me that it'll be MY fault if Darcy loses, you'll surely understand my inclination to politely tell you to take your glossy-paged magazine into the nearest available bathroom stall, tear out a sheet, and put it to a more appropriate use.
I and every other activist in the netroots community - whether we're covering Darcy's race or Scott Kleeb's race or any other important House, Senate, gubernatorial, judicial, executive, or commissioner's race across this nation, do what we do for exactly one reason:
Because you guys, the big boys of the traditional media, have forgotten how to do your job. You have somehow come to accept shining a pitiful little 3 watt Christmas tree bulb instead of the blinding spotlights you used to wield. (Woodward and Bernstein, anyone? Remember those guys?)
Those of us who are tired of living in the dark have little choice (because we love our country, thank-you-very-much) but to take time away from our families and our jobs to cover the stories you won't cover. To shed that light.
That's why I write and talk about Darcy's leadership, her intelligence, and her Iraq and Economic plans all the time. That's why I blog about how useless Dave Reichert has been as a congressman.
That's why I refuse to let him get away with claiming the glory for catching Gary Ridgway when he let that mass murderering psychopath run free for five years longer than he needed to.
Because you, the corporate media, only seem to want to publish horse race stories that can be written from a newsroom, I'm stepping up to do what I can to help the voters get to know who Darcy Burner is and what she's all about. And to help the voters get to know who Dave Reichert is and what he's all about.
I'm not a full time reporter...but then, I have to hold down a real job, too. I do what I can. I do it because at the end of the day, I know one thing. The more voters get to know Darcy, the more they like her. And the more they know Dave Reichert, the less they like him.
Again, to the people who run TIME Magazine...if you had a shred of self-respect about you, you'd quit making me do your job for you.
And if you had a shred of accountability, you sure as heck wouldn't blame me for what is ultimately your failure and the collective failure of your peers in the traditional media to educate the voters.
If Darcy wins what is surely an incredibly difficult race, the credit will go to her, to her amazing campaign staff, to the army of volunteers who do what they can, who give of themselves and their time and effort, and yes, some small share of it to me and all the other Americans who belong to the netroots community.
But if she loses, the fault must surely rest with those who have both the responsibility and the resources to shine those really bright lights: you, Time Magazine, and the rest of the traditional media. I'm sorry you couldn't be bothered to do your jobs, but come on, whose fault is that?
Surely not the fault of those who stepped up and did what we could.
While I would ordinarily be delighted to see such high profile coverage of our little district, in this case the article can't be said to make a lot of sense. You can read it for yourself, or read the DailyKos analysis of it, but the suggestion in the article is that if Darcy loses this race, it will be the fault of the netroots.
Or in other words, me.
You see, I'm a blogger living in WA-08 who advocates all the time for Darcy Burner. So you'll understand if I take that just a little bit personally.
All the more when I consider the thick and acerbic irony of TIME Magazine, a bastion of the traditional media if ever there was one, making that claim.
Here's the thing: if Darcy loses it will be primarily because voters don't actually understand who she is and what she's all about, or conversely, who Dave Reichert is and what he's all about. And responsibility for any failing in that regard lies squarely at the feet of the traditional media.
Remember, it's THE MEDIA'S JOB to educate the public about the candidates over and above simply reporting what the candidates say about themselves and each other. There's a reason that the media, our independent, free American press, is called the "fourth estate".
While the legislative, judicial, and executive branches are the first three estates of government, and while they have their (increasingly useless) checks and balances between them, the media serves as an indispensable check on them. The media exists to hold the three estates of government accountable to the people.
Our Founding Fathers knew that slime grows in the dark. That's why they made an explicit point of writing freedom of expression and freedom of the press into our Constitution so that the media could, then and forever, shine light onto the operations of government for the American people to see.
So, TIME Magazine, when you tell me that it'll be MY fault if Darcy loses, you'll surely understand my inclination to politely tell you to take your glossy-paged magazine into the nearest available bathroom stall, tear out a sheet, and put it to a more appropriate use.
I and every other activist in the netroots community - whether we're covering Darcy's race or Scott Kleeb's race or any other important House, Senate, gubernatorial, judicial, executive, or commissioner's race across this nation, do what we do for exactly one reason:
Because you guys, the big boys of the traditional media, have forgotten how to do your job. You have somehow come to accept shining a pitiful little 3 watt Christmas tree bulb instead of the blinding spotlights you used to wield. (Woodward and Bernstein, anyone? Remember those guys?)
Those of us who are tired of living in the dark have little choice (because we love our country, thank-you-very-much) but to take time away from our families and our jobs to cover the stories you won't cover. To shed that light.
That's why I write and talk about Darcy's leadership, her intelligence, and her Iraq and Economic plans all the time. That's why I blog about how useless Dave Reichert has been as a congressman.
That's why I refuse to let him get away with claiming the glory for catching Gary Ridgway when he let that mass murderering psychopath run free for five years longer than he needed to.
Because you, the corporate media, only seem to want to publish horse race stories that can be written from a newsroom, I'm stepping up to do what I can to help the voters get to know who Darcy Burner is and what she's all about. And to help the voters get to know who Dave Reichert is and what he's all about.
I'm not a full time reporter...but then, I have to hold down a real job, too. I do what I can. I do it because at the end of the day, I know one thing. The more voters get to know Darcy, the more they like her. And the more they know Dave Reichert, the less they like him.
Again, to the people who run TIME Magazine...if you had a shred of self-respect about you, you'd quit making me do your job for you.
And if you had a shred of accountability, you sure as heck wouldn't blame me for what is ultimately your failure and the collective failure of your peers in the traditional media to educate the voters.
If Darcy wins what is surely an incredibly difficult race, the credit will go to her, to her amazing campaign staff, to the army of volunteers who do what they can, who give of themselves and their time and effort, and yes, some small share of it to me and all the other Americans who belong to the netroots community.
But if she loses, the fault must surely rest with those who have both the responsibility and the resources to shine those really bright lights: you, Time Magazine, and the rest of the traditional media. I'm sorry you couldn't be bothered to do your jobs, but come on, whose fault is that?
Surely not the fault of those who stepped up and did what we could.
# Posted by Jason Black : 1:58 PM
Comments:
Thank you for work on behalf of Darcy and for a better Congress.
But, for the moment, thank you for writing this and expressing so well some of what drives so many of us to take time from our families, from other activities, to pursue 'new media' paths of communicating.
You are entirely welcome.
And yes, it did feel good to write that. :)
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