‘JT Leroy’ Blasts Snark, Fails to Grasp ‘Irony’

The term “snark” is being thrown around alot in media on media these days. Almost as much as “JT Leroy.” So we were delighted when the two got together under the guise of an “article” in the latest issue of Black Book, penned by “JT Leroy.” In it, “JT Leroy” chronicles his first encounter with “snark” (or as “he” says, “my first visceral run-in”) when a column in SF Weekly “turned on Dave Eggers.”

“Leroy” manages to get some input from Kurt Andersen and ex-Spin editor Hans Eisenbeis on the state of snark. (Side bar: Who exactly does “Leroy” say is calling for comment?)

Our favorite part, though, is “Leroy”‘s thesis: “Snark is not the new black, it’s the old crack.”

When did snark become an acceptable pose for journalists, be they bloggers hiding out in daddy’s rec room or fellas fanning themselves under the fearsome moniker of the New York Times?

Oh, I don’t know, “JT.” Perhaps when, oh, other writers, er, “journalists,” began hiding out in, I don’t know, completely made-up identities.

What’s more snarky than that?

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