If Newt Gingrich can do it, so could the Washington Blade.

It appears that The Blade, Washington’s LGBTQ newspaper, has seen a sharp rise in Facebook likes and Twitter followers in the past week — and one that’s causing some industry insiders to whisper that something fishy may be going on.

In fact, they have purchased a Facebook campaign, Editor Kevin Naff told FishbowlDC in an angry morning phone call Friday in which he grew defensive, hung up on us and insisted, in our first exchange ever, that he’s been in the business way longer than we have. “We have been increasing our social media efforts,” he snapped. “We have been partnering with bloggers and we purchase an advertising campaign on Facebook, something anyone can do if you have money.”

But pssst…could they be buying Twitter followers? Just how manufactured is their following? A little over a week ago, the publication pole vaulted from 9,000 followers to 12,000 overnight. Then from 11 p.m. to 2.am. on that Thursday night/Friday morning they leaped from roughly 12,000 to nearly 14,000 followers. Now they’re resting at 14,157, which weirdly means they lost 212 followers over the weekend. On Friday they had 14, 369 followers. Previously they were several thousand below the national gay snark site, Queerty, on Twitter and below the local gay site Metro Weekly on Facebook in terms of likes. Now The Blade is hundreds above both.

“It’s real easy,” barked Naff. “It [the Facebook campaign] gets your name out there and encourages people to read our stories.” Naff accused Metro Weekly personnel of planting this story, which, in effect would turn this whole story into a good old-fashioned cat fight. “You shouldn’t fall for the petty vendetta,” he said. “There’s nothing unethical about what we’ve done.” Naff snarled that part of the reason for the jump is their recent hire, Phil Reese, as digital manager. (This was before the phone went dead.)

To give an overview, from February to November of this year The Blade went from the 7,000 range to 9,000. Suddenly last week they vaulted to the arena of 14,000. Metro Weekly‘s Facebook count at the moment is: 5,610 likes. Their Twitter following: 6,676.

“There’s just no way you can go up that quickly,” remarked an insider who thinks The Blade manufactured the whole jump.

Sean Bugg, Co-publisher of Metro Weekly, remarked on the sudden jump based on his own experiences in the business. “Obviously I have no direct knowledge of how the Washington Blade either gains or maintains their Twitter feeds or how they get their followers on Facebook,” he told FBDC. “I do know from experience that it’s very difficult and very eyebrow raising to see five to six thousands readers come through in one evening. It makes you wonder, what’s the cause of that? For us, we had Lady Gaga tweeted out our video of her. That got us over a 140 thousand YouTube hits, but it wasn’t this sudden increase of Twitter followers. Web traffic doesn’t necessarily convert to Twitter following or Facebook increases. You get spikes. You generally see a more steady growth in these things.”

What does Bugg think is happening here? “I can’t say specifically what might be happening, but it’s the kind of thing that raises my eyebrows,” he said. “I don’t have access to their internals, but we work in journalism. All of us are trained to look at data that looks kind of odd.”

But Karl Frisch, a Democratic strategist at Bullfight Strategies and an early adapter and expert in Social Media — his Twitter subscriber number is 3365 — says the seemingly seismic shift in The Blade‘s following may not be as outlandish as some are making it out to be. “That would coincide with advertising,” he said, noting that he has seen a number of Blade ads on Facebook. “I would say it’s unusual, but The Blade has a sophisticated approach to social media. When they came back from the dead they committed a lot of resources to Facebook and Twitter. I’ve seen the ads. I think  buying adversting is very common.”

Frisch said readers still get to choose where they’ll go. “Someone still has to click ‘follow’. They have to show that they’re interested in following you. I’ve been on Twitter since the second week that it existed in 2006. Given what I know of them, I would say that they are perhaps in the midst of a good bit of traffic to their accounts. I’d be interested to see where it is in two weeks.”

The Blade may even want to hire Frisch, who didn’t raise his voice or slam the phone down once during a polite conversation about web traffic and advertising.

A cautionary tale. If you follow ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper on Twitter there are a few things you mustn’t do even if you do sound like you come straight out of a Beavis and Butt-Head casting call. 1. Blame him for his network’s choices. 2. Call him a cheerleader for those he interviews.

On Sunday afternoon a follower named “Jash” (a.k.a. jashsf on Twitter) got into it with the hardcore tweeting TV journo by accusing him of being a sellout. Tapper swiftly blocked him. From what we can tell, Jash’s buddy, Eric Pollard (a.k.a. ActualWolf on Twitter) nearly got himself blocked as well, not only from guilt by association with the loser Jash but by calling Tapper a cheerleader. Pollard, though mildly grammar-challenged, soon sucked up to Tapper and saved himself the demoralizing fate of being blocked by the White House Correspondent.

Meet the Complainers…

Jash: When did our beltway journalists start worrying more about being friends than writing real stories? Gotta get the party invites eh guys?

Pollard: @jashsf There is NO real journalists anymore? Journalism is a huge back patting session. More ass kissing than a coke party.

Jash: That might explain why he blocked me for suggesting as much. Truth hurts. …Should I be proud @jaketapper is blocking me? How old is he that he can’t take any criticism?

Pollard nearly got himself blocked too, but let’s watch as his messages move from acid-toned to the ass kissing coke parties he spoke of moments earlier.

The cheerleader accusation…

Pollard: “WOW! Get over yourself @jaketapper I’ve seen a bunch of your interviews lately? You act like a cheerleader in all of em.”

Uh oh…did I screw this up?

Pollard: @Jaketapper Heard you blocked @jashsf for attacking journalists? It’s Twitter, could’ve gotten my stories crossed?

At this point Tapper pipes up and defends himself, asking Pollard, “What ‘cheerleading’ are you talking about? …You said I had been doing that in several interviews. When? Where?” He also explains why he’s blocking Jash: “When ppl throw out rude insults, sometimes I block them. Life is too short. Constructive criticism fine, of course.”

Pollard warms to the ABC journo…

@jaketapper Right on. Yeah folks can be real dicks in the twitterverse. Just do me a favor and really bust people’s balls when ya can. … Journalists sometimes come across as cheerleaders in interviews. They push the interviewed [sic] along and fail to call them out.

He promises to conduct meaningful searches on Tapper’s work.

@jaketapper I will search through some stuff and try to find some examples. Sorry. Balancing. Twitter, lunch and football all at once. …Get back to you in a few. Promise.

The apologies roll in…

@jaketapper Sorry bud. Not only am I apologizing to you, but I douched out on this. Went thru some. Ur a ball buster! #endprematuretweeting. …Don’t worry. Respect your journalism. There’s not many folks out there like ya.

Then the mother of all make-up tweets arrives: Pollard now thinks Tapper ought to have his own program. In fact, why not replace MSNBC’s Chris Matthews?

@jaketapper Shake the tree of Washington politics and get your own political roundtable show. Chris Matthews could stand to be replaced?

All’s well that ends well. Tapper unblocks Jash.

Tapper: @jashsf You’re no longer blocked, thanks to [Pollard]. But let’s take it easy on rude eruptions. And to Pollard: Happy to unblock your friend, just pls, let’s be civil. We can argue or challenge each other politely! Before moving on to commentary on the Muppets Jash got in one last dig: “Hey, I’m a fan but I won’t hold back when I feel like you guys are out to win friends vs write good copy. Sorry.”

UPDATE: Tapper actually blocked Jash a few days prior to Sunday’s episode for something far more rude than Sunday’s words.

The warfare between The Daily Caller and Politico continues today with The Daily Caller devoting its morning homepage to its latest charge: Politico readership is taking a nosedive. This, after American Journalism Review, painted the Rosslyn outlet in a rosy manner earlier in the week, complete with Washington reporters afraid to critique the outlet by name out of fear of maybe needing a job there someday. Based on internal tracking provided by Politico, AJR says the publication receives 60 million hits a month.

The Daily Caller, meanwhile, cracks on Politico‘s own “Playbook” by Mike Allen, with the blaring red letter headline, “This Wasn’t in Playbook.”

“Measurements of U.S. Web traffic provided to The Daily Caller by Compete, Inc. indicate that the number of total monthly visits to Politico.com dropped by 31.8 percent during the 18-month period that ended on October 31.”

We reached out to Politico for reaction to this story. So far, zero response. All is quiet on the Rossyln front. Maybe FakeJimVandeHei will weigh in on Twitter?

A media executive who knows Daily Caller Editor-in-Chief Tucker Carlson spoke on condition of anonymity: “It is well known they are struggling financially and journalistically, so they need to punch up and try to pick fights with serious, successful enterprises. I assume that is why Tucker seems oddly obsessed with POLITICO and let’s his opinion columnists write whatever is on their mind about them.” The exec also noted that “a war” typically involves two sides.

The Daily Caller questions the numbers gathered by AJR author Jodi Enda, saying she refused to give the name of the researcher who affirmed the numbers given to the publication by Politico. They also insinuate she had some sort of bias, pointing out that she has written for HuffPost, Mother Jones and “the liberal” American Prospect. The Daily Caller, obviously known for being a conservative publication even though it has bristled at that description, reports that their numbers on Politico come from Compete, Inc. Josh Peterson, the publication’s Tech Editor, wrote the story.

Politico, which generally adopts a condescending attitude toward the younger publication, has both praised and attacked The Daily Caller. In October of 2010, Politico‘s Ben Smith wrote that The Daily Caller is “struggling” to find its place and therefore attacking more established publications like National Review. Carlson responded by email: “The Daily Caller is ‘struggling’? What a ludicrous hack job, and stupid. F*** you.” And in a recent story by media writer Keach Hagey (“The Daily Caller’s Growing Pains”), she writes a largely positive piece with critiques folded within.  She wrote that Carlson has largely achieved what he set out to do: “The site, which has grown from around 20 to more than 40 employees, has injected an unprecedented level of original reporting into the conservative online media landscape, which had been, as Carlson himself noted, largely made up of opinion before its arrival.”

Previously Politico drew the ire of Carlson when they ordered two reporters to re-report the reporting of then-reporter Jonathan Strong on the Michele Bachmann migraine headache story and called the publication “conservative.”

Just two weeks ago, The Daily Caller accused Politico of liberal bias by charting the appearances of Politico reporters on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” At the time, Politico responded by asking, “What story?”

The soap opera at the National Press Club is over. At least for now. Club member Sam Husseini, who was suspended last week after club officials found his behavior at a recent presser distasteful, learned over the holiday weekend that the Ethics Committee has ruled that he’s back in.

At the heart of the dispute was whether Husseini is really a journalist. Second to that, is he a nuisance? Depending who you talk to, he’s all of the above. He’s a blogger who writes www.washingtonstakeout.com and he’s Communications Director for the Institute for Public Accuracy. The club labels him a “communicator.” He’s also the guy who asks tough, speechified questions at press conferences, sometimes to the point of angering guests  and club officials. Young members are siding with him — a move NPC Executive Director William  McCarren argues is largely political with club elections coming up.

Husseini seems relieved. He promises to forge ahead with even harder questions, and posted the following statement on his personal blog this morning at dawn:

“I’ve been informed by the chair of the Ethics Committee that my suspension at the National Press Club has been lifted. I welcome this decision and aim to ask ever tougher and sharper questions. I hope others will as well. I had asked the Saudi ambassador about the legitimacy of his regime, but if tough questions are not welcome at the Press Club, or at other media institutions, then their legitimacy is also undermined. I particularly welcome this decision as it allows me to attend the debate for the Press Club presidency this [Monday] evening. It’s a rare contested election — with the Let’s Press Ahead slate having issued a strong statement on my behalf. I hope it will mark a meaningful step forward.”

FWIW: Friends of FishbowlDC ate Thanksgiving with Husseini at the Emergence Community Arts Collective and found him pleasant and peaceful. He discussed the situation with the NPC during the meal.

See his recent interview with Russia TV here.

As Washington moves into one of its quietest times of the year, the National Press Club is chock full of friction.

As controversy swirls around suspended member Sam Husseini, NPC elections are underway and slated for for Dec. 9 and the Young Members candidates are latching onto and taking strong stands. A group of young members calling itself “Let’s Press Ahead” is supporting Husseini by condemning his suspension “in the strongest of terms.” They insist journalists are “professional antagonists” and stress the importance of “asking tough questions.”

There is also some confusion about rules. Late last week, Sarahanne Driggs, Director of Membership Retention, dispatched a letter to members about a Meet and Greet on Nov. 21 — an evening described as an opportunity to meet Young Member Candidates and listen to “spirited discussion” about their platforms. Members of the “Let’s Press Ahead” campaign aim to “make a positive difference …especially during these challenging and changing times in our profession.” In her email, Driggs said members would get a chance to hear from those running on the “Let’s Press Ahead” ticket on their vision for the Club’s future.

Driggs’ note also mentioned Sherlock Holmes Night on Dec. 7, an evening of costume contests, Holmesian decor and cuisine. This is where things get dicey. NPC Executive Director William McCarren sent out a subsequent email explaining that there will be no “formal” program involving the candidates. He stressed that social events and committee funds are not to be used for campaign purposes. He insisted that Sherlock Holmes Night will not involve any candidates forum.

Read the two letters from Driggs and McCarren after the jump…

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If there’s something worse than being called a lobbyist, it’s being labeled a “hobbyist.”

What a long strange trip Sam Husseini is taking these days. Hunter S. Thompson he’s not. But he is trying his hand at a form of Gonzo “journalism” that’s landing him in hot water and earning him the description of “hobbyist” by the National Press Club’s Executive Director Bill McCarren (pictured at left). The club recently suspended Husseini (pictured below) for two weeks after they say he became disruptive at a press conference. The NPC Ethics Committee is quietly debating Husseini’s club status in a process likely to conclude before his suspension ends. Husseini, meanwhile, is prepping for a possible meeting between him, his lawyer and the Committee.

McCarren spoke with FishbowlDC late this afternoon by phone about Husseini and the tension-filled press conference that started this whole mess. While McCarren would not speak about Ethics Committee deliberations, he said Husseini is by no means a journalist. Rather, he charged, he’s advocacy and gets paid by clients of the Institute for Public Accuracy. This is why the Press Club puts Husseini, also a blogger who writes washingtonstakeout.com, in the category of “Communicator.” As such, he pays higher dues and is not allowed to vote in elections.

“The ethics process is playing out and that’s the part we won’t talk about until we give him the courtesy in a letter,” McCarren told FishbowlDC. “He’s a member so it should be between us and him.”

Suspensions do happen at the NPC, but their prevalence is not known. “We’re not a rule-heavy place, but it does happen,” he said, unwilling to reveal even roughly how many he has seen in his time there. “We don’t talk about that.”

Then what qualifies as reasoning for reprimand? McCarren said repercussions become necessary when members “diminish the experience.” In Husseini’s case, McCarron says, his intention was to disrupt the press conference. “We don’t care about the toughness of the question, we care about its duration,” he explained. “He was making a speech and he was trying to take a cream pie and hit the guest in the face. The guy was there to speak about an assassination plot against Saudis that might have taken place by a Mexican hit man hired by Iran and would have happened in Washington and killed U.S. citizens. That’s a hell of a story. In our view, Sam is not a journalist. How about we let the journalists in the room ask questions?”

This is in hot dispute. Husseini claims he is a journalist because he writes for a blog. The Press Club says he’s not because he writes with a slant and works as a Communications Director. “The guys from Reuters and NBC, I’m pretty sure what they’re there to do,” said an outraged McCarren. “He [Husseini] has paying clients. I’m pretty sure he was there to be disruptive. He was filibustering. Then he flipped a whole bunch of attitude. It didn’t make me happy that he made this all about himself, that he caused cameras to focus on his little moment. I would have hoped that he’d act more respectful of his colleagues.”

He also hoped Husseini might have the “sensitivity to at least hang back and hear what the professionals are asking. It’s not like Sam Husseini can go to the White House, Congress or the State Department and ask a question. We’re about the only place in town he can go and ask a question. We are his meal ticket. For him to say we’re censoring is ridiculous.”

McCarren hopes the suspension will teach Husseini a  lesson…

Read more

More fan mail. Keep it coming. This one comes from a hate-filled reader who thinks D.C.’s uber publicist Wendy Gordon ought to take legal action against us for running Facebook pictures that she publishes daily for all the world to see. If Judge Judy is presiding, we are so in.

“Somehow I think your blog is looking for more publicity than it gets and realized that you get a spike when certain writeups are about certain individuals so you decide to become a TMZ in Washington DC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously.  I guess in this age of hits, counts, impressions, tweets, or whatever, this is the only way you guys get to keep your jobs.  What a shame.  I hope Wendy comes out blazing with her lawyers.  I would.”

The Cold War between Politico and The Daily Caller is over. Now it’s just war.

This morning, The Daily Caller leads its site with a potentially explosive story by TV writer Jeff Poor on Politico‘s tight relationship with MSNBC. They’ve long tried to paint the Arlington, Va. giant with a tainted, liberal bias. Back in July, Editor-in-Chief Tucker Carlson backed down after ordering staff to refer to Politico in their stories as “a liberal publication based in suburban Virginia.” The ill will stemmed from a story by then-DCer Jonathan Strong (now at Roll Call) on GOP Presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann‘s migraine headaches. Politico royally pissed off Carlson by reassigning the story to reporters who described the DC as “conservative” and who “confirmed” the DC’s reporting, as though it needed confirming. At the time, new Managing Editor David Martosko was so eager to please that he vowed to go back into each story mentioning Politico and make the change. But it never happened and Carlson walked back his email decree to use the description.

But now The Daily Caller has a sampling of numbers on Politico reporters who regularly appear on the network. For this story, Poor had his eyes glued to MSNBC. “I watched a lot of MSNBC the past three days,” he told FishbowlDC. “I ought to get a Purple Heart.” His watching also unearthed other news: Politico‘s Mike Allen, who appears regularly on MSNBC for his Playbook segment, switches up his attire. “I can speak on authority that Mike Allen changes clothes on a daily basis,” Poor said, recalling some discrepancy on that.

Fox News pounced on the anti-MSNBC bandwagon. The story reports that no Politico reporter has appeared on the network in 18 months. And no network media story is complete without one of those blind and bitchy Fox News PR quotes — this one declares that Fox News is just not that into Politico reporters appearing on their programs: “We try to book guests that make for compelling TV; Politico reporters tend not to rate well,” a Fox News spokesperson told The Daily Caller.

That’s right. They prefer the company of Daily Caller journos such as Carlson, an FNC commentator, and Jamie Weinstein, who regularly appears on “Red Eye.”  They also frequently invite on reporters and editors from Roll Call and The Hill. But not all Politico foes appear on FNC. NJ and Politico also have an abrasive relationship. Former FNC White House Correspondent Major Garrett, now an NJ congressional correspondent, has returned to his former network minimally. He appears far more often on MSNBC.

Politico did not return requests for comment from Poor. Though the DC does quote Editor-in-Chief John Harris on Hugh Hewitt‘s radio show after the host wondered about the potential harm of Politico co-hosting a debate with NBC. Harris replied, “Well, I just don’t accept the premise and I don’t accept your premise about Chris Matthews, who I admire.” He also said Matthews was not moderating the debate — that would be Brian Williams.

In the meantime, we hear Politico media writer Keach Hagey, recently freed from the constraints of daily short bursts of blog writing and allowed to write long form, has been fishing around for a new bombshell story on Martosko, perhaps involving his former ties with the lobbying and consulting firm, Berman and Company. For today, The Daily Caller newsroom is aglow in anti-Politico sentiment, reflecting a longtime vendetta between the publications.

We reached out to Politico for comment. For now, radio silence.

Read the full story here.

WaPo has an interesting examination of GOP Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich and his incessant ragging on debate moderators. Is this a good strategy or not? WaPo‘s Aaron Blake declares yes, it is, but it may create backlash for the weighty, mouthy, big-headed candidate with politician-white hair. He writes, “the tactic is both juicy red meat for conservatives who distrust the mainstream media and tiresome to journalists who see Gingrich as picking on them for cheap political gain.”

An excerpt: Gingrich is good vessel for these voters because he’s always been known as the smartest guy in the room. By incredulously ragging on the debate moderator, he’s essentially saying, ‘I’m better than this debate, so I’ll make my own rules.’ …There are, however, a few ways this attack-the-media strategy could go badly for Gingrich. One, the moderators could simply stop asking him (as many) questions, not wanting to take the abuse. As we’ve seen many times, candidates will often complain about not getting enough questions, and not all debates aim for equal time for each candidate. Without receiving questions, Gingrich could be relegated to an afterthought at these debates, which are, after all, his lifeline at this point to a credible candidacy.

Read the full story here.

The fight begins anew between old media and new. In one of his first acts in his newly launched capacity as a political and media blogger, Politico‘s Ben Smith calls out The Daily Beast/Newsweek Washington Bureau Chief Howard Kurtz for self-pimping. Howie, meanwhile, explains what the rest of the Twitterverse does ad nauseum — that RT’s do not equal endorsements. Blah blah and more blah.

Kurtz: “Thanks” MT @knightofgood “@HowardKurtz should win award-Best morning show seen in yrs. HK- only one to confront Politico. Great questioning.”

Smith: “@HowardKurtz Did I read that RT of yours right? That you agree you should win an award for ‘confronting’ news reporting?”

Kurtz: “No awards, @benpolitico. I just ask questions. RT doesn’t imply endorsement.”

For this, we offer Howie these men’s costume gangster/pimp/disco platform shoes. Price tag: $43.99.