Ever wondered how media members, leftist organizations and liberal bloggers all seem to be able to start writing and talking about the same subject as if they have been briefed?
Well, they have been briefed. Just cut and paste. Cut and paste
JournoList: Inside the echo chamber
For the past two years, several hundred left-leaning bloggers, political reporters, magazine writers, policy wonks and academics have talked stories and compared notes in an off-the-record online meeting space called JournoList.
Proof of a vast liberal media conspiracy?
Not at all, says Ezra Klein, the 24-year-old American Prospect blogging wunderkind who formed JournoList in February 2007. “Basically,” he says, “it’s just a list where journalists and policy wonks can discuss issues freely.”
But some of the journalists who participate in the online discussion say — off the record, of course — that it has been a great help in their work. On the record, The New Yorker’s Jeffrey Toobin acknowledged that a Talk of the Town piece — he won’t say which one — got its start in part via a conversation on JournoList. And JLister Eric Alterman, The Nation writer and CUNY professor, said he’s seen discussions that start on the list seep into the world beyond.
Cutting and pasting sure saves time, especially if one doesn't have to even think about what to produce each day.
Presto! Here's today's talking points kids. Stay on message...
