Print This Post Print This Post

Jan

9

“Hillary schedules official crying jag for South Carolina”

Filed Under Campaigning, Elections, Flip, WH2008, Women | 9 Comments

I heard it here first.  My favorite part:

According to strategist Mark Penn, a trusted group of campaign aides would have the job of inducing tears from Mrs. Clinton by “saying mean things to her” before every appearance.

Additionally, Mr. Penn says, Mrs. Clinton has a secret weapon in her latest endeavor, former president Bill Clinton: “No one can make Hillary cry like Bill can.”

Seriously.  Just imagine how deep the well is of things Hillary could cry about.

Bookmark and Share

By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:23 pm January 9th, 2008 in Campaigning, Elections, Flip, WH2008, Women | 9 Comments 

Print This Post Print This Post

Jan

9

Newsweek uninterested in The Ruckus political bloggers’ political contributions

Filed Under Blogging, Media, Politics, Wide Open | 4 Comments

Amy Gahran’s Poynter Institute piece on Newsweek’s collaboration with Media Bloggers Association, The Ruckus, examines how that effort is the same as and different from Wide Open:

The same includes:

“We actively recruited a mix of bloggers from across the political spectrum for The Ruckus.” [says Deirdre Depke, Newsweek.com editor]

The different from:

[Depke says] As partisan voices, we fully expected some would make contributions to political campaigns or would have done so in the past. At least one blogger previously held an official position with the national Republican party, and we’re okay with that.

Additional different from:

[Depke says] What we didn’t want — and wouldn’t accept — is a blogger who is currently employed directly by a party or political campaign. The Ruckus bloggers are guest contributors, akin to op-ed writers, meaning they are not subject to the same strict guidelines Newsweek’s editors and writers must adhere to. We don’t regard Ruckus bloggers as reporters objectively covering stories for Newsweek, and neither should our readers.

Finally, the piece of the Wide Open-Plain Dealer-Cleveland.com arrangement that had PD editor Susan Goldberg so concerned – the nominal pay that connected us to the PD – has be handled this way:

Robert Cox, president of the Media Bloggers Association (which arranged for some of its members to write for The Ruckus) also clarified that Newsweek is not paying its bloggers directly; it’s paying the MBA, and MBA is paying the bloggers. (More about MBA’s role in The Ruckus from Steve Outing.)

Thanks again to Amy Gahran, who is an incredibly reliable voice and analyst in regard to journalism – old, new, still developing and yet to be developed.

Bookmark and Share

By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:36 pm January 9th, 2008 in Blogging, Media, Politics, Wide Open | 4 Comments 

Print This Post Print This Post

Jan

9

This blog’s been Erieblu’d

Filed Under Blogging, Ohio, Politics, Women, Writing | 1 Comment

When I read this post at the new NE Ohio political blog, Erieblu, authored by Bridget Ginley, I kept hoping that WLST was so inconsequential (despite that Eric Fingerhut quote) that, if it ever got reviewed at Erieblu, it would be the very last ever, and maybe be posted on a holiday Sunday, when no one would read it.

Alas, WLST was Erieblu’d today.  And boy am I disappointed – I expected WLST to be ripped to shreds. But no, Tim Russo had to go and surprise me and like this blog.  Pretty much most of it, with a couple of exceptions: he’d like to see another re-design and I agree, but that won’t be happening for at least a month or two if that soon.  Also, he’s not fond of how I write like I talk, except when I break news. I do know what he’s talking about, so we’ll see how much more breaking news there is this election year.

Overall:

The Value

Jill is probably the best, and only, female voice in the Ohio blogosphere who “gets it”, and for this WLST is a great barometer on a lot of levels. If Jill has picked up on a blogswarm, then it’s for real, and she’ll probably pick it up early, so you’d better keep an eye on it. Jill often takes her time before jumping on a bandwagon – she has spent a long time building a reputation of high standards and value in the Ohio blogosphere. If you can stand the writing like she’s talking thing, anyone wading through Ohio blogs for the first time should bookmark her immediately.

2008 Outlook

Again, pay attention. Some campaign, some politico, some staffer, somewhere in Ohio, is going to get dragged around by a story that is broken on WLST. It’s just going to happen. You’ve been warned.

Keep an eye on Bridget’s blog and the Ohio political blog reviews.  They really are incisive and unique.

Bookmark and Share

By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:21 pm January 9th, 2008 in Blogging, Ohio, Politics, Women, Writing | 1 Comment 

Print This Post Print This Post

Jan

9

Bush’s first trip to Israel – what a big oy

Filed Under Foreign Affairs, Politics | Comments Off

He should have been there YEARS ago.

Ugh.

That’s all I have to write – I have vacation poundage to lose.

Bookmark and Share

By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:09 am January 9th, 2008 in Foreign Affairs, Politics | Comments Off 

Print This Post Print This Post

Jan

9

[updated] Truest candidate soundbite yet goes to Clinton & her Capri Cafaro moment

Filed Under Campaigning, Elections, Politics, WH2008, Women | 1 Comment

Speechwriters. Soooooo important.

Here’s the transcript of Hillary Clinton’s primary speech in New Hampshire last night. But the best line, among many good lines:

Over the last week, I listened to you and, in the process, I found my own voice.

Of course, Capri Cafaro didn’t pay attention to what she was saying when she acted as though she was listening to us, but that’s another story.

What I wrote last night? It’s true. It is very, very true. How far will it go? Don’t know. And remember the book that came out last fall about how people vote with emotion?

This primary season is just starting.

If Clinton sticks with this, and she and her team translate the success of being the best kind of interviewee from the Meet the Bloggers annals, she will have rechanneled the authenticity represented in phrases she’s said in NH while campaigning, especially those about just how long she’s been working to make things different and better.

Is she still at the bottom of my list?

Well, it’s a short list – only four names. But I definitely feel better about her campaign. It’s striking much, much better chords.

Update: Not everyone feels the same way about the show of emotion.

Bookmark and Share

By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:39 am January 9th, 2008 in Campaigning, Elections, Politics, WH2008, Women | 1 Comment 

Print This Post Print This Post

Jan

9

Carnival of Ohio Politics #99

Filed Under Blogging, Carnivals, Ohio, Politics | Comments Off

Welcome to the first 2008 post for the Carnival of Ohio Politics (#99).

Looking for more new year’s resolutions? Submit posts to the carnival!

Many thanks to Lisa Renee for resisting the inevitable 99 impulses.

Bookmark and Share

By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:30 am January 9th, 2008 in Blogging, Carnivals, Ohio, Politics | Comments Off 

"));