Not soon enough for Howie baby, as far as I'm concerned.
STEVE LOVELADY*: I don't want to say that every blog out there is put together by a 14 year old kid in the basement. I mean there's some very solid ones. I haven't found one that devotes itself exclusively to campaign press criticism and commentary, and that's staffed by professionals who are articulate, analytical and fast.
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*Steve Lovelady, a former managing editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer and current managing editor of the Columbia Journalism Review's CampaignDesk.org
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Steve Lovelady, managing editor of CJR Daily (formerly Campaign Desk) e-mailed PressThink with a reaction to the blog storm, and criticism of one of its leaders, Hugh Hewitt, who has broadcast the Jordan story on several platforms-- his blog, his radio show, a television appearence with Chris Matthews, the Weekly Standard. Lovelady, formerly an editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Wall Street Journal among other stops, doesn't trust what he's seeing:
I have to confess, this tempest in a teapot that Hugh Hewitt is trying to stir up over Eason Jordan leaves me baffled. First, Eason has already said his remarks were misinterpreted, and that he was not imputing intent.
But he's more than a little dismayed by the number of reporters killed by friendly fire, and why shouldn't he be? If he weren't, he would be shirking his job as a boss who regularly has to send reporters into harm's way. Furthermore, it's not like Eason is the first to bring up this issue. Two highly-regarded professional organizations, the Committee to Protect Journalists ("Permission to Fire") and Reporters Without Borders ("Two Murders and a Life"), have issued reports on this problem.
And numerous blogs and websites have done their own work, most recently Resonant Information. Hugh needs to come out of his conservative cocoon and get a life-- not to mention a more comprehensive reading list.
This whole matter really exasperates me -- and makes me think all over again that all too many bloggers (Hugh Hewitt foremost among them) are little more than the equivalent of the idiots lined up at any sports bar critiquing the athletes giving up their hearts and their guts on the playing field.