PostWatch

Well, That Didn't Last Long

I barely had enough time to note that Ben Domenech joined washingtonpost.com as a blogger before he resigned over a plagiarism scandal. post.com chief Jim Brady:

In the past 24 hours, we learned of allegations that Ben Domenech plagiarized material that appeared under his byline in various publications prior to washingtonpost.com contracting with him to write a blog that launched Tuesday.

An investigation into these allegations was ongoing, and in the interim, Domenech has resigned, effective immediately.

When we hired Domenech, we were not aware of any allegations that he had plagiarized any of his past writings. In any cases where allegations such as these are made, we will continue to investigate those charges thoroughly in order to maintain our journalistic integrity....

Nice vetting there! Hope it doesn't take another half year to fill this position, though the outcome is probably correct. More at American Thinker here. Domenech rejects the charges in a post at Red State, where according to the bloggers there he'll continue to post.

We Interrupt This Hiatus To State The Obvious

washingtonpost.com has finally gotten around to hiring a conservative blogger, nearly a half year after I was informed by ombudsman Deborah Howell, in response to a question I asked her, that post.com chief Jim Brady was looking into it. The blog, Red America, is written by Red State's Ben Domenech. Michelle Malkin recently predicted the left would "go nuts" over this, and sure enough they are, as noted by Editor & Publisher.

Some of the reaction is based on plain ignorance. The Washington Post does have conservative Op-Ed columnists; washingtonpost.com, until today, did not. Many people still don't understand the extent to which post.com is a separate fiefdom.

If you count bloggers only--as opposed to newspaper columnists who blog--there just hasn't been a clearly identifiable conservative.The Think Tank Town blog is written by Ron Nessen, former press secretary for Republican President Gerald Ford, but these days he's working at the liberal Brookings Institution. His blog, which I don't read regularly, appears commendable in its even-handed survey of think-tank activities (recent entries include comment about a Cato Institute study criticizing Bush's National Security Strategy, balanced by two Brookings scholars attacking Bush's National Security Strategy).

People who feel more at home with the left have bloggers like Jefferson "Downing Street Memo" Morley, an alum of The Nation. Yesterday he wrote:

Three years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the heated debate in the British media about the war has given way to a gloomier discussion about Iraq's dismal state....

which is the sort of thing Morley usually writes. So be it. Other than that item's focus on Britain--Morley's column is called World Opinion Roundup--the sentiment would be equally at home with William Arkin's column or anything by Dan Froomkin or Emily Messner or so on and so on. One blogger that broke the mold a bit is Bert Stover, a chief warrant officer serving in Iraq in a National Guard unit. But Stover is a writing a from-the-trenches blog (Reporting For Duty) and since liberals Support Our Troops every bit as much as conservatives, Stover's doesn't factor into this equation.

So it is a marvel, but given the track record should not be, that the outrage of the left led to exchanges like this in a live chat with the Post's Tom Edsall:

Washington, D.C.: The hiring of the Red State Blogger is yet another example of why I cancelled my subscription to The Post and do not intend to ever re-instate it. The Post's view that it needs to "balance" viewpoints buys into the notion that The Washington Post adequately provides a forum for a liberal viewpoint. Do you really believe that The Post has an over abundance of liberal viewpoints?

Tom Edsall: In fairness to the many inquiries about the Red State blogger, the questions you raise go to some basic issues of journalism that deserve much more expansive treatment and should get answers defining the principles guiding the Post as it engages with web. I could shoot my mouth off on these questions, but they should be answered by those with the power to set policy.

Do you really believe that The Post has an over abundance of liberal viewpoints?

Do you really believe it doesn't?

Update: Here's a link to my short post on the column's quick burial.

This item linked to Wizbang's fantabulous Carnival of Trackbacks

I'm Lovin' It

What's the secret to slowly increasing traffic? Don't post:

PostWatch on Hiatus

As if you couldn't tell! Anyway it's nice to see some hits still coming in, but just wanted to say to the occasional visitor that, as the saying goes, I'm pursuing other opportunities.

Be well.