Points for Creativity

WaPo Opinion Columnist E.J. Dionne took the scenic root in a recent column in which he urges readers of good quality journalism to invest in the The American Prospect, which could close in June if it doesn’t raise the funds it needs to survive.

Dionne never even mentions The American Prospect until the fifth graph. Instead he talks about his love of opinions — all opinions — and reading those with whom he disagrees like National Review and Human Events. Once perched on the Prospect, he spends the remaining five graphs explaining why he is pleading for you to save it.

He even gives a major shout-out to budding opinion journos like our Ezzy (WaPo‘s Ezra Klein) and more.

“The maddening aspect of The Prospect’s crisis is that it has been innovative in dealing with the new online world that, as an opinion-lover, I also appreciate (even if I would insist that opinionated writing can never substitute for the relentless daily reporting of the traditional news outlets). The magazine gave a start or a big push to some of the best younger progressive online writers now gracing us with their views. They include Ezra Klein, Matt Yglesias, Jonathan Cohn, Kate Sheppard, Dana Goldstein, Laura Secor and Jonathan Chait.”

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

When Al Gore hired Keith Olbermann to anchor his primetime line-up, he knew he was getting a bomb-thrower more than a newsman. Just how much more, he might not have known.

On Monday, Current’s Chief News Officer created an uproar when he and guest Markos Moulitsas joked about alleged rapes at Occupy Wall Street protests. This is always a dumb move. He later doubled-down on the stupid when he tweeted “No Occupy rapes, no cover-up, no apology, no retraction…” and accused BigGov’s Andrew Breitbart of creating the whole thing in an attempt to discredit the protests.

When Big Journalism Contributor Lee Stranahan complied all the rape and sexual assault stories about Occupy in one post for the world to see, you’d think that would’ve been the end of it. But Olbermann’s ego won’t allow anyone to have the last word on anything, so he “debunked” each one, one by one.

Unfortunately for Keith, the Breitbart websites are not the silent, wallflower types even if their writing is sometimes abominable.

In his “debunking,” Olbermann changed his tune from “No Occupy rapes” to “Because almost none of the allegations are of rape and most of this list are duplicated…” to “2 stories duplicated” to “Occupy MEMBERS were victims.” That’s quite a journey in just one day, especially without ever acknowledging his position completely changed.

Even still, where he ended up, that the victims and not the perpetrators were the only Occupy people involved in these rapes and sexual assaults, isn’t the truth. After Olbermann’s “debunking, Stranahan was back a few hours later with a section by section debunking of what Olbermann said. Keith then went silent, maybe to bed, maybe to play with his baseball cards, or maybe to Stuart Smalley in the mirror to calm his nerves.

On a final note, Olbermann tweeted, “Here’s a wager: @DLoesch (Editor-in-Chief of Big Journalism) and @AndrewBreitbart will NOT post the video of tonight’s debunking.” They did. No terms were offered, but here’s a wager: Olbermann won’t admit they made a fool of him.

 

Whoa! Gridiron Club Sec. Carl Leubsdorf got to first base early this morning. What?!

USA Today‘s Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page tweeted this unusually personal message to CBS Political Director John Dickerson this morning at 5:05 a.m. “@jdickerson We’re up because Carl was trying to make it to first base in a dream and fell out of bed. (He was on the Yankees, BTW.)”

Dickerson replied, “Yes, but did he beat the throw?”

 

MSNBC contributor Meghan McCain is also, like, totally a blogger! When not dispensing overpriced dime-store insight into the space between her ear she calls the young Republican mindset, she muses about stuff ‘n’ stuff on her website, McCainblogette.

Tuesday, Meghan took to her blog to offer some advice on “How to avoid 140-character regret,” four pearls of wisdom on how she tries to avoid exposing herself as an idiot by making embarrassing mistakes on Twitter.

She describes it this way: “Here are some rules I’ve set for myself to avoid any Tweet-centric mishaps or regrets.”

Overlooking the opening graph that would earn a D- in a third grade writing class, her points are as follows.

“1. Never tweet directly after a breakup, trust me no good will come of this. You are too emotionally raw and you don’t want to take it out on your twitter family.”

OK, not the worst advice ever. But it’s a lot like telling a kid “Don’t stare at the sun.” It’s gonna happen. But still, not a horrible start. Though referring to strangers on Twitter as “family” is a bit odd.

“2. Never tweet when you are angry in response to a follower. Take a step back and breathe- it’s just some anonymous person on the internet.”

First, the word “Internet” should be capitalized. Second, didn’t she just say people on Twitter were her family? Now they’re “just some anonymous person”? Where’s the love, Meghan? Third, if Twitter isn’t for fighting and letting the world see pictures of what you’re eating for dinner, what’s it for?

“3. Make sure that whenever you post a picture, you have looked over numerous times to make sure it’s correct. Tori Spelling’s husband recently tweeted a topless picture of his wife accidentally without realizing it- yikes!”

OK, there’s just a lot of stupid happening here. A LOT! Take a second and read that again, then realize that she’s a Columbia University graduate and PAID to write for The Daily Beast. The first sentence has a missing “it” and “Tori Spelling’s husband recently tweeted a topless picture of his wife accidentally without realizing it…”? Who would Tori Spelling’s husband’s wife be? And could you “accidentally” tweet something while realizing it? If this is what you get with an Ivy League education, community college for everyone! Tina Brown, that sound you hear is your brand tarnishing.

“4. And finally, try not to tweet anything you wouldn’t be comfortable with your mother, grandmother or sister reading – that’s my rule of thumb.”

Um…Uh…Why did she feel the need to make three points about her “rules,” then, in the final point, say THIS ONE is her “rule of thumb”?  What are the other three? General guidelines she thinks people should just ignore as long as grandma, mom and sis are cool with what you’ve said? “Rules of pinky”?

You have to wonder sometimes if Meghan ever reads what she’s written. More than that, you have to wonder how hard it is for colleagues at MSNBC and The Daily Beast to not laugh at her when she’s around. As for the rest of us, it’s a good thing she’s not around.

 

It’s always fun to see how a politico handles a Hollywood-style paparazzi ambush. Such was the case yesterday when Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan was approached by Celebrity Q & A’s Colin Drummond outside the T.C. Williams High School.  Seeking a salacious story, Drummond tried to get Duncan to comment on porn star Sasha Grey‘s new pass time: reading books to public elementary school students in California.  Arnie denied any knowledge of the “actress” or her extracurricular activities and quickly flipped the pap’s tongue slip to deliver a motivational message about literacy: “I love people reading books in school.  We’re all supposed to read books in school.”  Point Duncan.

This afternooon American Urban Radio White House Correspondent April Ryan sat on the dais of the National Press Club during a luncheon where the keynote speaker was TMZ founder Harvey Levin. Beforehand, she attended a V.I.P. reception where she got to meet him and tell him how much she enjoys watching his show.

Please, Fishbowlers, we’d really like to see your creative captions. Send to FishbowlDC@mediabistro.com or to Betsy@mediabistro.com. Or tweet us your caption at @FishbowlDC.

“Bo may look like an ordinary dog but trust me, Harvey, he’s so much more.”

TWT Senior Opinion Writer Emily Miller is doing the unthinkable. She’s giving up watching ABC’s “The Bachelor” on Monday nights when the series returns.

Don’t be crazy. We’re kidding.

For real though, she’s headed to City Hall today to find the gun permit office. A new series will follow her through all the red tape of legally acquiring a gun in the District. She writes, “My desire for a gun started when I had to face down over a dozen criminals on an empty cul de sac in Washington, D.C., armed only with a Blackberry.”

In a story today she takes readers through the crime that involved a man with bloodshot eyes and a useless dog.

This is a must-read.

Note to Readers: In Sept. 2009, Christian Davenport wrote a similar story for WaPo. An editor asked Davenport to purchase a gun. Some 15 hours and four trips to the Metro Police Dept. later, he got his gun. We’ll see how Miller fares.