Dave Weigel Violates Rule One

Posted on | June 24, 2010 | 51 Comments

PREVIOUSLY: Rule One of Modern Journalism is, Don’t piss off Matt Drudge:

“This would be a vastly better world to live in if Matt Drudge decided to handle his emotional problems more responsibly, and set himself on fire.”
— David Weigel, e-mail to “Journolist”

Sigh. He also trashed Byron York and referred to Ron Paul supporters as “Paultards.” Both of which are very bad things to do, but probably not as career-damaging as pissing off Drudge. It doesn’t matter how big your scoop is. If Drudge won’t link you, you’re screwed.

Dave has tried to explain that he was getting buried in hate mail, etc., but I don’t know how — or even if — he can ever eat enough crow to repair this kind of self-inflicted career trauma.

Nevertheless, that crow ain’t gonna to eat itself. Chow down, buddy.

And Dave: You never should have trusted those Journolist people.

UPDATE: Donald Douglas reminds us of his earlier skepticism about Weigel’s WaPo gig and quotes Will Collier:

Weigel’s personality aside, the fact that he’s a contributing member of Klein’s liberal propaganda-coordination clique should have been disclosed from the very beginning of Weigel’s “reporting” on conservatives. It says nothing good about either Weigel or his bosses at the WaPo that none of the above thought Weigel’s membership in a glorified version of Media Matters would be something worth notifying readers about.

Understand this: Weigel’s editors are getting what they want. Conservatism to them is terra incognita, that part of the old maps emblazoned with the motto, “Here Be Dragons.”

If Weigel were to get fired, he would not be replaced with a blogger/reporter of whom conservatives would approve. The WaPo doesn’t hire such people. Rather, his failure would be interpreted by WaPo editors thus: “See there? Conservatives don’t want to read real news anyway, so why bother? Screw ’em. Hire Eric Boehlert.”

UPDATE II: Matthew Vadum on Twitter:

If you don’t know who Vadum is, he is senior editor at Capital Research Center and an American Spectator contributor who was busting ACORN before most people ever heard of ACORN.

Meanwhile, the lefties at Journolist are wondering who leaked Weigel’s e-mails:

[I]t was the first time the listserv has been used specifically as a weapon of the anonymous professional takedown, and so, sent shivers through the JournoList community.
“People are feeling betrayed by whoever the leaker is, once again,” said Eric Alterman, the Nation columnist and journalism professor who is a member of the listserv. . . .
“The list is confidential,” said one member who, in typical fashion, declined to be named for this article. “Whoever broke the confidentiality of the list obviously has no respect for some pretty basic journalistic norms. But I can’t talk about it because it’s supposed to be confidential.”
The member added: “Whoever leaked that is obviously extremely jealous of the exceptional work that Dave is doing for the Post, and whatever Dave said should be viewed in that light.”

“Crabs in a bucket,” as they say. Anyone who has ever worked in DC can testify that in Washington, the more you succeed, the more knives will be aimed at your back. The nation’s capital is a place where the whisper campaign and the poison-pen letter have been refined to a high art.

If you wonder why I’ve defended Dave, contemplate the moral of Androcles and the Lion: Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.

Category: Neutral Objective Journalism

Comments

51 Responses to “Dave Weigel Violates Rule One”

ECM
June 25th, 2010 @ 12:15 am

Why is someone on the conservative beat hanging out at leftist spin central???
ECM
June 24th, 2010 @ 8:15 pm

Why is someone on the conservative beat hanging out at leftist spin central???
TR Sterling
June 24th, 2010 @ 8:33 pm

Why it was only 2-3 weeks ago Stacy, was helpin “his buddy, Dave. What was it you said? Something like, “Next time Davey, be a little more sincere when you run down Palin, cause she knows how to play hard ball better than you?” Stacy you have a weak little brother. Just because Davey got a job on Wapo (that may be short lived) doesn’t mean you need to bow to him or cut him any slack any more. Let Joe Klein be his mentor now.
TR Sterling
June 25th, 2010 @ 12:33 am

Why it was only 2-3 weeks ago Stacy, was helpin “his buddy, Dave. What was it you said? Something like, “Next time Davey, be a little more sincere when you run down Palin, cause she knows how to play hard ball better than you?” Stacy you have a weak little brother. Just because Davey got a job on Wapo (that may be short lived) doesn’t mean you need to bow to him or cut him any slack any more. Let Joe Klein be his mentor now.
Joe
June 25th, 2010 @ 12:36 am

Keep it up and maybe Matt will bump someone and make a link spot for The Other McCain on the Drudge Report. You are worthy and I could think of a few that definitely deserve to go.
Joe
June 24th, 2010 @ 8:36 pm

Keep it up and maybe Matt will bump someone and make a link spot for The Other McCain on the Drudge Report. You are worthy and I could think of a few that definitely deserve to go.
Ed Driscoll » From the Journ-O-List to the Ignore List
June 24th, 2010 @ 9:11 pm

[…] offense to Will, but potentially much worse for Weigel, as Stacy McCain writes, is going on Matt Drudge’s ignore list: Rule One of Modern Journalism is, Don’t piss off Matt Drudge: “This would be a vastly better […]
Kevin R.C. O'Brien
June 25th, 2010 @ 1:34 am

Look, I know the guy was your friend, but either you are extremely tolerant of your friends or he’s undergone some kind of malevolent Change of Life that turned him into the bitter, thin-skinned, whiny (“they wrote about my dancing! Waaah!”) dwama qween he is today.

And it happened before the WaPo gig. The WaPo would not put anybody on the “right” beat that they weren’t sure was a right-down-the-line, say-frog-I’m-already-jumpin’, reliable Party member.
Kevin R.C. O'Brien
June 24th, 2010 @ 9:34 pm

Look, I know the guy was your friend, but either you are extremely tolerant of your friends or he’s undergone some kind of malevolent Change of Life that turned him into the bitter, thin-skinned, whiny (“they wrote about my dancing! Waaah!”) dwama qween he is today.

And it happened before the WaPo gig. The WaPo would not put anybody on the “right” beat that they weren’t sure was a right-down-the-line, say-frog-I’m-already-jumpin’, reliable Party member.
moran
June 25th, 2010 @ 1:41 am

@ECM, he “covers” conservatives, he’s not reporting from the conservative perspective.

I reckon all those Paultards will be big fans of his log now.
moran
June 24th, 2010 @ 9:41 pm

@ECM, he “covers” conservatives, he’s not reporting from the conservative perspective.

I reckon all those Paultards will be big fans of his log now.
jefferson101
June 25th, 2010 @ 1:59 am

Drudge may actually be getting kind of prolix, if the reference isn’t too obscure…..

I still click into him three or four times a day, but if you aren’t into sex scandals and hysterical British tabloid pronouncements, he’s only got about two or three links a day worth pursuing here lately.

OTOH, once I’ve worn out this site and a few others, what’s left but Drudge?

I’m on and off the ‘net during the day from work, when and as my workload allows. And if there’s nothing new here, at Ace of Spades, Hot Air, Michelle Malkin, or Instapundit? Drudge is about the only game in town. He’s never NSFW, either.

Since I don’t do HuffPo, it’s about the best I can do sometimes, and there’s always something new or different, even if I mean “different” in a somewhat warped way.

It beats re-reading the headlines on any of the news stations 10 times a day, for sure.
jefferson101
June 24th, 2010 @ 9:59 pm

Drudge may actually be getting kind of prolix, if the reference isn’t too obscure…..

I still click into him three or four times a day, but if you aren’t into sex scandals and hysterical British tabloid pronouncements, he’s only got about two or three links a day worth pursuing here lately.

OTOH, once I’ve worn out this site and a few others, what’s left but Drudge?

I’m on and off the ‘net during the day from work, when and as my workload allows. And if there’s nothing new here, at Ace of Spades, Hot Air, Michelle Malkin, or Instapundit? Drudge is about the only game in town. He’s never NSFW, either.

Since I don’t do HuffPo, it’s about the best I can do sometimes, and there’s always something new or different, even if I mean “different” in a somewhat warped way.

It beats re-reading the headlines on any of the news stations 10 times a day, for sure.
Janelle
June 25th, 2010 @ 2:05 am

Guys, blog world is huge and growing larger by the moment…Weigel is gone before I ever saw him and there was no link to Drudge. And BTW, if Matt Drudge really gives a rat’s ass about his readership……….there are some tired and boring links still posted on the site.
Janelle
June 24th, 2010 @ 10:05 pm

Guys, blog world is huge and growing larger by the moment…Weigel is gone before I ever saw him and there was no link to Drudge. And BTW, if Matt Drudge really gives a rat’s ass about his readership……….there are some tired and boring links still posted on the site.
Robert Stacy McCain
June 25th, 2010 @ 2:38 am

Just because Davey got a job on Wapo (that may be short lived) doesn’t mean you need to bow to him or cut him any slack any more

I’ve known Dave since 2006, when he was fresh out of Northwestern and working at Reason. We both covered the insanity at the 2008 Libertarian Party national convention in Denver, which was a sort of Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test experience. And we also worked NY-23 together.

Dave is, as I said many times before he got hired at the Post, one of the best young reporters in Washington. Has he been acting kind of like a douchebag lately? No doubt. But he’s not Eric Boehlert.
Robert Stacy McCain
June 24th, 2010 @ 10:38 pm

Just because Davey got a job on Wapo (that may be short lived) doesn’t mean you need to bow to him or cut him any slack any more

I’ve known Dave since 2006, when he was fresh out of Northwestern and working at Reason. We both covered the insanity at the 2008 Libertarian Party national convention in Denver, which was a sort of Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test experience. And we also worked NY-23 together.

Dave is, as I said many times before he got hired at the Post, one of the best young reporters in Washington. Has he been acting kind of like a douchebag lately? No doubt. But he’s not Eric Boehlert.
Scott
June 25th, 2010 @ 2:56 am

I thought he was a Reason boy.

For all his very impressive credentials, the fact that he’s having a moan on JournoList kind of nails the coffin shut, doesn’t it? As a credible reporter, I mean, on conservatives? Whether he’s personally conservative or not, I really don’t find much value in someone who turns to Ezra and Mattito for consolation about hate mail.

Not that I turned to him much, if ever, before. Another overeducated punk, typing away into the internets.
TR Sterling
June 25th, 2010 @ 2:56 am

RSM, you are the Ken Kesey that went conservo!
But your flashbacks are killing you.
I love it when the McMurphy in you comes out.
“One flew east (maryland), one flew west (wapo?), one flew over the cuckoo’s nest” LOL
Scott
June 24th, 2010 @ 10:56 pm

I thought he was a Reason boy.

For all his very impressive credentials, the fact that he’s having a moan on JournoList kind of nails the coffin shut, doesn’t it? As a credible reporter, I mean, on conservatives? Whether he’s personally conservative or not, I really don’t find much value in someone who turns to Ezra and Mattito for consolation about hate mail.

Not that I turned to him much, if ever, before. Another overeducated punk, typing away into the internets.
TR Sterling
June 24th, 2010 @ 10:56 pm

RSM, you are the Ken Kesey that went conservo!
But your flashbacks are killing you.
I love it when the McMurphy in you comes out.
“One flew east (maryland), one flew west (wapo?), one flew over the cuckoo’s nest” LOL
Ben (The Tiger)
June 25th, 2010 @ 3:00 am

Listservs are dangerous!

Still, stunned to find out Weigel was on Klein’s list…

The problem with libertarians — and I still count myself as one, or at least a sympathizer — is we want to be liked by liberals.

But that’s a foolish quest. And we know it. And then we forget it again…
Ben (The Tiger)
June 24th, 2010 @ 11:00 pm

Listservs are dangerous!

Still, stunned to find out Weigel was on Klein’s list…

The problem with libertarians — and I still count myself as one, or at least a sympathizer — is we want to be liked by liberals.

But that’s a foolish quest. And we know it. And then we forget it again…
Estragon
June 25th, 2010 @ 4:13 am

How sad to become a “never was” at such a young age. Most kids go out in a sudden tragedy, accident, OD, suicide, overexposure to Lawrence Welk re-runs, etc. Dave’s just going to waste away in obscurity.

This is scarcely the first time he’s attempted to attract attention by “punching up” out of his weight class. If you can’t run with the big dogs, stay under the porch, sonny.

I respect Stacy’s experience and opinion, and he says Weigel is a good reporter. I’ve just never seen any evidence of that, and plenty of evidence of him being a sloppy, impudent hack.
Estragon
June 25th, 2010 @ 12:13 am

How sad to become a “never was” at such a young age. Most kids go out in a sudden tragedy, accident, OD, suicide, overexposure to Lawrence Welk re-runs, etc. Dave’s just going to waste away in obscurity.

This is scarcely the first time he’s attempted to attract attention by “punching up” out of his weight class. If you can’t run with the big dogs, stay under the porch, sonny.

I respect Stacy’s experience and opinion, and he says Weigel is a good reporter. I’ve just never seen any evidence of that, and plenty of evidence of him being a sloppy, impudent hack.
Dave Weigel’s Anti-Conservative Rants Go Public
June 25th, 2010 @ 8:15 am

[…] tone of Right Now is one of someone on a mission to expose just how crazy conservatives are. As Stacy McCain notes, “Weigel’s editors are getting what they want. Conservatism to them is terra […]
I haven’t paid much attention to Dave Weigel situation « DaTechguy's Blog
June 25th, 2010 @ 9:01 am

[…] calls him a friend, he has gone after him on occasion when wrong (as have I) but he believes in the honey/vinegar […]
moran
June 25th, 2010 @ 2:04 pm

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/39011_Page2.html

eh…

But the Post does not seem moved by the criticism. Hiring Weigel – along with Ezra Klein and Greg Sargent – was an effort by the Post to increase the paper’s relevance in the blogosphere and to present new content that Post National Editor Kevin Merida described to POLITICO’s Ben Smith as “a unique space between reporting and commentary.”

The paper seems determined to stand behind Weigel on this one.

“Dave’s apology to readers reflects he understands, in calmer hindsight, the need to exercise good judgment at all times and of not throwing stones, especially when operating from inside an echo-filled glass house that is modern-day digital journalism,” said Post Managing Editor Raju Narisetti, the architect of the Post’s latest moves into the blogging space. “Time to move on.”
moran
June 25th, 2010 @ 10:04 am

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/39011_Page2.html

eh…

But the Post does not seem moved by the criticism. Hiring Weigel – along with Ezra Klein and Greg Sargent – was an effort by the Post to increase the paper’s relevance in the blogosphere and to present new content that Post National Editor Kevin Merida described to POLITICO’s Ben Smith as “a unique space between reporting and commentary.”

The paper seems determined to stand behind Weigel on this one.

“Dave’s apology to readers reflects he understands, in calmer hindsight, the need to exercise good judgment at all times and of not throwing stones, especially when operating from inside an echo-filled glass house that is modern-day digital journalism,” said Post Managing Editor Raju Narisetti, the architect of the Post’s latest moves into the blogging space. “Time to move on.”
Blake
June 25th, 2010 @ 2:29 pm

Weigel violated a very basic rule: Never put into email anything you do not want forwarded.
Blake
June 25th, 2010 @ 10:29 am

Weigel violated a very basic rule: Never put into email anything you do not want forwarded.
RightKlik
June 25th, 2010 @ 3:19 pm

Weigel shouldn’t apologize for being HONEST for once; he (and everyone else in the Democrat/Media Complex) should apologize for pretending to be OBJECTIVE.
RightKlik
June 25th, 2010 @ 11:19 am

Weigel shouldn’t apologize for being HONEST for once; he (and everyone else in the Democrat/Media Complex) should apologize for pretending to be OBJECTIVE.
Dave C
June 25th, 2010 @ 3:27 pm

Keep it up and maybe Matt will bump someone and make a link spot for The Other McCain on the Drudge Report.

What are: Things that will make Charles Johnson’s head explode?
Dave C
June 25th, 2010 @ 11:27 am

Keep it up and maybe Matt will bump someone and make a link spot for The Other McCain on the Drudge Report.

What are: Things that will make Charles Johnson’s head explode?
Rightwing Links (June 25, 2010)
June 25th, 2010 @ 11:55 am

[…] Dave Weigel Violates Rule One […]
Jim Lakely
June 25th, 2010 @ 4:42 pm

And it’s official. Weigel fell on his sword.

http://bit.ly/crH2cq
Jim Lakely
June 25th, 2010 @ 12:42 pm

And it’s official. Weigel fell on his sword.

http://bit.ly/crH2cq
ice9
June 25th, 2010 @ 4:51 pm

Cool to be reminded that (conservative intellectualism/contribution to the polity) =, and will always =, (suck up to Drudge). In these days of reflection on what it means to be a leader, the continued institutionalization of agnotology on the right, and the china syndrome of fake outrage in the conservative media, I sometimes catch myself thinking that you folks may come around to an American point of view. I sometimes read the right-wing bloggers and think, “Maybe this guy can function in a world of facts,” or “If you sponge the venom off, there’s a useful idea,” or “Aside from being a tool, he’s pretty smart.” Then I am brought back to today by such dildocity as we see above. Weigel’s a wad, and who cares who he offended in the charley foxtrot scrum of leapfrogging stupidity that is the Drudgiverse. The whole thing is a vat of jello in which the same old “nobama!” digs are suspended like Swedish Fish. Meanwhile the people suffer.

Drudge.

ice9
ice9
June 25th, 2010 @ 12:51 pm

Cool to be reminded that (conservative intellectualism/contribution to the polity) =, and will always =, (suck up to Drudge). In these days of reflection on what it means to be a leader, the continued institutionalization of agnotology on the right, and the china syndrome of fake outrage in the conservative media, I sometimes catch myself thinking that you folks may come around to an American point of view. I sometimes read the right-wing bloggers and think, “Maybe this guy can function in a world of facts,” or “If you sponge the venom off, there’s a useful idea,” or “Aside from being a tool, he’s pretty smart.” Then I am brought back to today by such dildocity as we see above. Weigel’s a wad, and who cares who he offended in the charley foxtrot scrum of leapfrogging stupidity that is the Drudgiverse. The whole thing is a vat of jello in which the same old “nobama!” digs are suspended like Swedish Fish. Meanwhile the people suffer.

Drudge.

ice9
moran
June 25th, 2010 @ 5:25 pm

http://www.mediaite.com/online/wapos-dave-weigel-resigns-after-more-journolist-e-mails-surface/ yay we did it.
moran
June 25th, 2010 @ 1:25 pm

http://www.mediaite.com/online/wapos-dave-weigel-resigns-after-more-journolist-e-mails-surface/ yay we did it.
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June 25th, 2010 @ 9:35 pm

[…] calls him a friend, he has gone after him on occasion when wrong (as have I) but he believes in the honey/vinegar […]
Red
June 26th, 2010 @ 11:25 am

Reading the comments section and the whole Weigel debacle I’ve gleaned more than I convey with this brief post of gratitude to ice9 for bringing the word “dildocity” to the table. That’s going up on Corndog.
Red
June 26th, 2010 @ 7:25 am

Reading the comments section and the whole Weigel debacle I’ve gleaned more than I convey with this brief post of gratitude to ice9 for bringing the word “dildocity” to the table. That’s going up on Corndog.
Blue
June 26th, 2010 @ 12:53 pm

“Whoever broke the confidentiality of the list obviously has no respect for some pretty basic journalistic norms. But I can’t talk about it because it’s supposed to be confidential.”–Eric Alterman

That is amusing on many, many levels.
Blue
June 26th, 2010 @ 8:53 am

“Whoever broke the confidentiality of the list obviously has no respect for some pretty basic journalistic norms. But I can’t talk about it because it’s supposed to be confidential.”–Eric Alterman

That is amusing on many, many levels.