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April 10, 2006BELTWAY BLOGROLL
Make That Red And Blue America
Washingtonpost.com enraged liberal bloggers and even a Democratic congressman last month when it hired a conservative to write a new blog dubbed Red America. The move became a public-relations nightmare almost immediately, and the blogger in question, RedState co-founder Ben Domenech resigned in shame amid revelations of plagiarism.
The Web affiliate of The Washington Post hasn't given up on the blogosphere, though. Raw Story broke the news yesterday that post.com is still determined to engage bloggers -- but this time, they're looking to hire one each of the red and blue variety.
"The paper doesn't plan on making any formal announcement," Raw Story noted, "but the news should be welcome to many critics on the left who felt that it was unfair to hire just a conservative blogger in the first place."
I haven't seen any reactions at major liberal blogs yet, but Ed Morrissey of Captain's Quarters praised the move by post.com. "I hope that the two bloggers they do select agree to occasionally square off on issues simultaneously, giving us a blogger version of Point/Counterpoint for the day," Morrissey wrote. "The comment sections should go wild for those debates."
Jon Henke at The QandO Blog also resurrected the idea of a third blogger, one with an indepedent/libertarian streak. He also offered his thoughts on the bloggers who could best fill each of the three slots.
Morrisey credited Raw Story with "an inside scoop from The Washington Post," but I'm not sure that's quite accurate. For those of us who keep tabs on JournalismJobs.com, it has been obvious since March 29 that washingtonpost.com still has its eyes on the blogosphere.
The site is not just looking for a couple of bloggers for freelance gigs; it's also looking to hire an "opinions and comments editor" who, among other things, "will manage and moderate user comments for a top 10 news and information site and contribute to a blog of outstanding comments and reviews."
The intersection between old and new media inside the Beltway is getting more interesting by the day.
UPDATE: Liberal bloggers don't expect post.com to hire one of their own, but Matt Stoller of MyDD seized on the news as an opportunity to boast.
"This move is an institutional recognition that genuinely progressive voices are not really included in public discourse," he wrote. "Jim Brady [the executive editor of post.com] might have learned something, or he might have just been pressured into it. Regardless, good job. Liberal blogs are making progress."
Posted by | 12:18 PM
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