Originally published at: What Made Blogging Different? - TPM – Talking Points Memo
Whether I like it or not, the first line of my obituary will probably be that I was the founding editor of Gawker.com, the flagship site of Gawker Media, a sprawling blog network that was put out of business by Peter Thiel and Hulk Hogan in 2016. Nick Denton and I started Gawker in 2002…
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Thank you. This brings back some fond memories for me. I started a hyper-local online-only newspaper in 2003 in West Hollywood that did well.
Those halcyon days of muckraking without legal looking over your shoulder at every move - got a bunch of people fired, made some changes in my city council and put my best friend in jail.
Look up Ed Buck.
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At least for me, the internet became important because it was the only way to express opposition to Bush’s obviously lying America into the Iraq War.
The first Paul Krugman article I ever read was about the American media in the runup to Bush’s war of lies was taking every statement from Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest like it was gospel while trivializing opposition. Krugman pointed out that the reason the European public was so against the war and the reason the American public was supporting the war was, a two word answer, “THE MEDIA”.
That is the traditional American media had made the decision NOT to allow any serious discussion about Bush invading Iraq, a country that did not attack or otherwise threaten America, under the guise of the war on terrorism and 911 when Iraq had nothing to do with 911.
For example, on the day Bush started the war in Iraq, I wrote a letter to every major news organization saying America was facing a single choice in regard to the war, DRAFT or LOSE. That is I detailed that the only way America would have any success in Iraq after the initial takeover phase was to secure the borders to keep out undesirables and provide everyday security to everyday Iraqis so they could build the institutions necessary for a unified democracy. I pointed out that this would require a DRAFT.
My biggest concern was that either choice by Bush, DRAFT or LOSE would be political disaster for him and his Party. I also pointed out that it would also take a Marshall Plan to convince/bribe Iraqis, like Truman did in much of the world after WW2, to accept a western style democracy instead of other choices. My biggest concern was that Bush and Republicans would sacrifice American and other lives to LOSE SLOWLY. That is exactly what happened. Bush chose to sacrifice American treasure to hide the loss until he was no longer in office and he and Republicans could blame someone else.
No media outlet ever responded or otherwise took note of my letter. That is the problem was the American media would never allow, and has still refuse to acknowledge the truth about Bush’s war based on lies.
Hence the internet. The internet was the only way anyone ever read mine or other concerns about the Iraq War from its runup through really today.
And that in my view, the failure of the mainstream media to discuss the Iraq War from its runup to its conclusion in honest terms is why the internet took off in regard to people discussing the news.
That is the internet became the source of news for many Americans because the mainstream media failed miserably and intentionally.
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I first heard the word “blog” in the late 90’s and had to ask of couple of colleagues what it meant. They were both software coders, which should tell you something about the atmosphere. I started mine (focused on medicine and health policy in New York, where I had one foot) initially using TypePad shortly after.
This was also around the time that Josh Marshall started Talking Points Memo - as a blog. I recall vividly his asking for contributions to fund a trip to New Hampshire (where my other foot is lodged) to cover the 2000 Presidential primaries. And, I thought, "wow, this is just like having a personal journalst to follow - without an editorial intermediary.” Thankfully, TPM still plays that role in my following history as it unfolds.
Perhaps oddly, I’ve pretty much decided to return to blogging without depending on various forms of social media. My primary reason is to write preliminary and observations and thoughts as part of a “work-in-progress. This will get them out there, but without the confines of the structure of a typical book, article, or academic paper. Except for my grandchildren and a few others, I really don’t care much whether anyone reads it.
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Ms. Spiers (which auto-correct immediately changed to Ms. Spiders, a hint at the world we’re living in or are about to be living in), thanks for you piece on blogging, a period I managed not to notice when it happened.
I didn’t realize that early blogging lacked tools for commenting – whereas in today’s social media, like Facebook, readers are blasted with a fire hose of information (argument, drivel, Reels, notes from old friends, and the occasional insight). Much of what passes for discussion amounts to facile reasoning.
What arrested me was your comment: “I was the founding editor of Gawker.com, the flagship site of Gawker Media, a sprawling blog network **that was put out of business by Peter Thiel and Hulk Hogan in 2016.”
**
That sounds like a story worth retelling. Perhaps as part of the TPM’s 25th anniversary, TPM could host an article about how that happened. Having only a vague recollection of the event, I’d love to learn what actually occurred. It sounds a lot like what’s going on these days, where the president (or minions) attempt to destroy or remove organizations or personalities they dislike.
Anyway, thanks for the article.
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