On Bringing Me into the Feed

by emptywheel

Dear Mr. Cox:

I don't know about you. But with all the Mad Cow and e. coli running around our food supply, I try to steer clear of any meat produced or slaughtered in factory conditions. I'm happy to pay the extra money to sustain smaller farms and local production with better standards of care, thank you very much. And I gotta say, your bid to "bring [me] into the MBA feed" makes it sound an awful like you're offering me a place in line as a beef cow, plodding her way dumbly to slaughter.

There are other bloggers at the trial from FireDogLake and they too were offered expedited membership in the MBA so they could be part of our feed and the AP deal. The woman who runs FDL has been in the hospital and so our efforts to sort that out was held up but I am going to DC tomorrow and hope to meet with her and try again to bring them into the MBA Feed.

See, here's what this sounds like to me. An attempt to make sure you brand the blogger content coming out of this trial, rather than Jane at FireDogLake. Or worse--an attempt to dilute the power of the (IMO) best source of reporting on this trial, the FireDogLake blog, by giving away what FDL's readers have invested in, to give it away for free, to the AP.

Here's why this bugs me so much. First of all, Jane and Christy and Arianna worked hard--independent of your efforts--to get their own passes for this trial. They did so appealing not to your system of credentialing, but by talking about reach and--this is important--expertise. You know, the two years of top reporting Jane has dedicated to this story.

And while I'm sure it was a lot easier for me to get a pass, applying as I did the day of the deadline, given that several other bloggers had already had these discussions about gettting a pass, my credentials for receiving one are quite different from those you require of your bloggers: The pass actually belongs to DailyKos, so it partly depends on a community of 700,000 readers, rivaling what the MSM brings to the table. Moreover, I've got a whole lot of expertise on this story. Byron York teases me that I've written more on this story than anyone and he may well be right. I've beaten the media with a number of scoops on this story. And, oh by the way, I wrote a book on it. Those are the elements that got me a pass in my own name to this trial, not any rules of credentialing that you've put into place.

Now perhaps you'd accuse me of being churlish, bitching like an "elite" blogger (though trust me, the readership of The Next Hurrah definitely qualifies it as a consonant-level blog). But really, there are two concrete things about your project that offend me as much as factory farming.

First is your cavalier attitude about this story in particular:

I am not particularly concerned with who exactly is coming to cover THIS trial; my aim is to make sure folks in the media, in the courts and elsewhere understand that whatever interest those other blogs might have in the Libby trial - and that while our members may have their own reasons for wanting to cover the trial - the MBA, as an organization, has no particular interest in the Libby Trial per se except that it serves as a model for how the courts (and other institutions) might credential bloggers in the future.

Because you see, I (and Jane, I'm sure) am concerned with who exactly is coming to cover this trial. Jane has brought together the best team covering this trial, period. She has had a prosecutor and a defense lawyer, her own amazing voice, a blogger who has been covering this story from Day One, someone who wrote a book on this topic (me!), and the person who has done the best work on the wider context--the Niger intelligence--all reporting from one blog. That's an amazing team, the match of anything the mainstream media is offering. Plus, we're liveblogging, which the mainstream media has expressed gratitude for. This is the kind of production designed to treat this story with the attention it deserves.

And then there's the importance of having this story be told from a blogger's perspective, which you don't seem to appreciate. The reason I, for one, have been following this story is because there is so much about it the mainstream media cannot comfortably report. This story strikes at the core reasons why there are bloggers, why so many readers and writers have decided to invest their time in citizen driven media. Without a real awareness of that, why tell the story?

But you, apparently, are treating this as a stunt, credentialing for credentialing's sake, with no eye toward the product you can deliver or the expertise you bring to the table. Don't get me wrong--I'm thrilled Clarice Feldman is reporting on this case (please, please, get Tom Maguire, too!), and will be thrilled to see Jeralyn back on your pass. But by putting forward anything less than the best the blogosphere has to offer, what message are we sending to other courts and institutions who might consider credentialing bloggers? We'll be seen as trial tourists, not the real experts many of us are. (And it's not that the MBA blogging has been BAD, some of it has been excellent. It's just that not all of the bloggers who have come through seem to have their heart in it.)

I'm here because I've worked long and hard to be here. The same is true for Christy and Jane. Your cavalier attitude about that work really diminishes the work of bloggers who work so hard.

And there's one more thing. It's this:

[Note: As a general rule, the MBA does not accept anonymous bloggers as members. We are willing to make exceptions and have done so but this is done rarely and only when there is a clear and compelling reason for anonymity. Regardless, all member applicants must disclose their identity to the chairman of the membership review committee who will make a preliminary determination on whether to recommend the applicant to the board anonymously or under a pseudonym.]

You know what? Someone who mistakes pseudonymity for anonymity is missing just a few critical things about blogging that go right to the core of its importance. Pseudonymity is the maintenance of a consistent identity, one to which credibility--or lack thereof--attaches just like it does to the name Bob Cox or Marcy Wheeler. Anonymity is something different, one that doesn't exist in any fully formed blog.

I'm sure you and I would disagree about this. But frankly, pseudonymity is one of the most important aspects to retaining the vitality of the blogosphere. Pseudonymity guarantees that citizens whose jobs or other life circumstances would not permit them to speak politically, to do so, using a consistent identity, but one that does not endanger their livelihood. This country was built on the importance of citizen speech--built by a bunch of guys writing as Publius. In this day and age, that critical aspect of our democracy is getting harder and harder to sustain. Blogging has brought it back, to a degree. And I, for one, don't want to belong to any organization that discards such an important tool of democratic speech without even understanding the difference between pseudonymity and anonymity.

Well, it's up to Jane whether FDL's great coverage will be "brought into the feed." But I, for one, will continue to report on this story as I have been doing, at DKos and here at TNH. You see, even writing under the pseudonym emptywheel I was able to build up my reputation for this coverage. And I owe it to the community whose trust earned me the credential into the courtroom to keep doing what I've been doing.

Comments

[William Ockham]

I've been so busy with other things (family, work, church, etc.) that I haven't had much time to comment on your excellent coverage of the Libby trial, but I can't resist stealing a few minutes to make this comment:

How does one take seriously this statement by Mr. Cox:
The media has been reporting on our newly announced plans for the MBA in the areas of education, legal and ethical advisory services, credentialing and so on. Some of it has been utter nonsense. In particular, the media has described our new initiatives as attempts to "professionalize" blogging and to create an "elite-tier" of bloggers.

Plans for "education, legal and ethical advisory services, credentialing" are the very definition of attempting to create a profession. Mr. Cox is either desperately ignorant or insidiously disingenuous. That statement is as inane as saying that just because we're drawing up plans for attacking military installations, bombing infrastructure, and invading some random country (oh, I don't maybe one that starts with I and has four letters), doesn't mean we're planning for war.

[Rayne]

BRAVO!!! There's NO way that I would want any blog that I read regularly to be co-opted just as the corporate media has been co-opted by this administration. Independent voices are essential since the compromise and collapse of the Fourth Estate.

And ultimately, Marcy and Jane and their fellow bloggers united under FireDogLake are citizens, uncompensated for their perspective on a trial of interest to all other citizens of the United States. Co-opting citizens is revoltingly undemocratic.

[orionATL]

cox sounds to me like just another hustler

trying to grab a piece of the action

or should i say rustler

trying to steal someone else's herd.

(no offense intended and i hope none taken :) )

or maybe "claim jumper" is the right historical metaphor. american metaphor.

[DeWitt Grey]

EW, your point here is so fundamental that it ought to be blindingly obvious -- the whole emergence of the blogosphere is due in no small part to the oligopolistic behavior of major media organizations in the United States, with the Echo Chamber effect it engenders.

I for one am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute modestly to the efforts of a variety of progressive bloggers, as we draw strength from the diversity of our views and our willingness to challenge each other.

It was great to see that tight politicsTV shot of Jane, Arianna and Swopa together, reflecting both diversity and the willingness to pool resources.

Worrying about the MSM's view of the blogosphere's credibility is mad -- the MSM are only attacking the blogosphere's credibility because the MSM's credibility has been damaged by so many self-inflicted wounds -- and even the indirect light shed on the MSM by Patrick Fitzgerald can only accelerate the MSM's downhill slide. It is the MSM that should be worried about getting its house in order.

[Canuck Stuck in Muck]

You tell 'em, EW! If I might indirectly address Mr. Cox and MBA using a somewhat altered version of a line that Arlo Guthrie once famously uttered, "You got a lotta damn gall, askin' us to join your fancy club, seein' as how you don't have a clue what us bloggers are doin'!" A lot of damned gall, indeed. Cox and MBA clearly 'don't get it' if they think that you and Jane and Christy and SWOPA and all of the rest of the people in the net roots are gonna jump at the chance to join their fancy, schmancy little club and carry official membership cards and sport the merit badges that they dole out for their puffed-up, presumptive, reputabilty! It's far more likely that MBA will be gobbled up by the traditional media (which they apparently emulate greatly), than that they could offer any compelling reason for you all to suddenly transform yourselves into something you've assiduously avoided.

[Neil]

Nice post Marcy. I hope Mr Cox is able to take is constructively rather than as an affront.

Pseudonymously Yours,

Neil

[emptywheel]

Neil,

I hope so too. His intent on much of his other issues seems reasonable, even if it is belied by his own reporting.

But let me check. Are you that same Neil who commments over at FDL? How do I know it's you? How can I trust you...

;-p

[JeffinBerlin]

Dear Marcy,
You are doing sterling work over at FDL and it is greatly appreciated by everyone. Mr. Cox and the MBA only want to control what is put out on blogs, censorship has no place in this community - organisations are only created to make "rules" that deny bloggers their freedom. Over at FDL, you, Jane, Swapo, Pach and the rest of the crew show what can be achieved by independant bloggers working together and outperforming the MSM.

If you need to join a club then the best way is to form your own - then you can make up your own EW rules!

[p.lukasiak]

You go Marci.

Any organization that would credential Clarice Feldman to cover the Libby trial has no credibility --- and neither Next Hurrah or FDL should allow their credibility to be compromised by joining Cox's big old vanity project.....

[Redshift]

My initial reaction on reading the excerpts you quoted was that Cox was offering bloggers the high privilege of being treated as reporters (only without, y'know, getting paid and stuff.) After clicking through and reading the whole context of his statements, I'd revise that to say he's just a self-aggrandizing twit, and he urges all bloggers to get their credentials through his organization instead of on their own, so that they can have a random slice of the court schedule, rather than a thorough presence, which would be better, um, for him. Or even if they have obtained their own credentials, they should join his "feed" because that would be better, um, for him.

I would agree that there's an advantage to have an organization (or even better, multiple organizations) that helps obtain credentials for bloggers who can't obtain them on their own or through partnerships. But I've been through the politics of small organizations enough times to recognize the pattern of "well, sure, lots of people could do this, but I'm doing it, so everyone should just join me."

(Furthermore, his upcoming travel plans for speaking at the Heritage Foundation and the Conservative Political Action Conference, his MBA from the University of Chicago, and his claim to have achieved some sort of blogger notoriety through a fight with the New York Times do not fill me with confidence about the "nonpartisan" nature of his organization.)

[emptywheel]

p luk

Honestly, Clarice is more expert on this story than many of the bloggers he has coming in, particularly from the right. I don't agree with what she says (and hell--she called me a temperance harpy, all because I corrected her misunderstanding of key dates!!). But I think she has at least earned a place in the court room (if that's who the righty blogosphere wants to inevst their own credibility in), which ought to be recognized. I'd prefer Maguire and hope he ends up in the courtroom. But I do think Clarice deserves the pass.

[Dismayed]

Credentialling is a dangerous thing. Perhaps he just "want's a piece of the action now", but more likely it's ultimately about control. Once they are able to form a corp of credintialled bloggers, they create uncreditialled bloogers - next thing you know they'll be positioning to make sure that credential is used coersively. At they very least they'll try consistently to devalue voices that don't pay hommage. Keep the first brick out of the wall. Never submit to any "credentualling" clubs.

[Mimikatz]

"Self-aggrandizing twit" sounds about right. The blogs covered this story because the Big Media could not or would not or was just too lazy. That's the truth. Now they want to piggyback on and co-opt the work of bloggers such as you, no doubt with the ultimate aim of sanitizing the story.

Forget it. You're doing great.

[karnak12]

Marcy, in this day and age being anonymous is tough and requires extreme effort and dedication. I've used the same psuedonym for a number of years and in various places. I'm certain the NSA knows who I am, where I live, what I do, how long I sleep on off days, etc., etc. Anyone who really wants to know who I am could find out with little trouble.

I am awed by your level of knowledge and dedication to the Libby trial/Plame leak et al. The only thing I can say is you are another one of my heroes. Keep on.

[Bustednuckles (Phil)]

Right. fucking. on. Marcy!
That was beautifully put.Especially the psuedonimity part.
And, you're exactly on point in every part of that gorgeous smackdown

[punaise]

nicely done, Marcy

[Eureka Springs, AR]

EW, Fabulous letter! Thanks for sharing a bit of what's going on behind the curtain.

Lets see them cough up the big bucks and let the ladies name the terms.

[qag1964]

1st TV executive: "The newspapers are saying that television programming is horrible and irrelevant!"

2nd TV executive: "What will we do?"

3rd TV executive: "Let's make a sit-com about it!"

1st TV executive: "It should be about a divorced newspaper journalist...with a cute, precocious adolescent kid..."

2nd & 3rd executives: "Oh, yes! Certainly..."

this stuff writes itself.

[urban pirate]

Love you EW.

Your dedication, commitment and hard work are changing the world.

[Pachacutec]

MBA does not in fact credential "blogs." It credentials "bloggers" as individual authors. I declined to take part right away based on their policy about pseudonyms. And having taken part in trial coverage, and been a bit player in the coverage team, I just want to jump in with my assent to Marcy's characterization of the dedication and expertise of the FDL/HuffPo/DKos "posse."

[emptywheel]

Sorry I didn't mention you in the list of expertise, Pach--I wasn't sure how much I'm supposed to say and I forget which title is correct!!

So I left it off. "Bad blogger!! Back into the wasteheap with you, you dumb cow!"

[Sinfonian]

Thank you especially for your comments about pseudonymity vs. anonymity. During my run on a game show last fall, I pretty much revealed my identity through my own blog as well as dKos and Eschaton, at the very least significantly compromising my anonymity. However, I wasn't so concerned about it, and I have suffered no ill effects therefrom. Nevertheless, I totally support those who wish to shield their identity from the blogosphere and beyond, for whatever reason.

Besides, what I was really trying to articulate during that whole hullaballoo last fall was precisely what you said about pseudonymity. Thank you, EW, for stating it far better than I ever could.

[joejoejoe]

Emptywheel - if 'elite' means held in the highest regard by your fellow bloggers based on the merit of your work then you are elite.

The MBA seems to be trying to gain credibility and market share by using the oldest of old media tactics - credentials and puffery. The Next Hurrah, FDL, The Left Coaster, and Needlenose are new beasts - akin to 'blink tanks' - places where ideas and reporting comes from the online world. MBA seems to exist to get bloggers to provide free or nearly free content to big media while it's organizers take a slice off the loaf. You are smart to say 'No thanks'.

[Trapper John]

Huzzah!

[Crazy Horse]

Reason, passion, hitting the nail on the head. Anything i missed? (Don't worry Pach, you already know how she feels.)