Let's help Brian Tierney find that REAL liberal columnist!
Let's help Brian Tierney find that REAL liberal columnist!
So the big story around here today was the "great debate" over the Inquirer's hiring of John Yoo, between Brian Tierney, the Inquirer publisher and CEO of the parent company of the Daily News and Inquirer, and Your Blogger. It was held on WHYY's Radio Times and you can listen to the podcast of it here. One thing that was clear from the start is that we won't be taking our schtick to MSNBC or Fox -- as it was far too civil for prime time, with not enough crazed shouting and what not. Brian said some very kind things about me and about Attytood (much appreciated) and I expressed my gratitude for the climate that allows a journalist/employee to speak freely.
None of that, of course, swayed me from my stance from Day One, that the Inquirer's hiring of "torture memo" author Yoo as a monthly columnist was a mistake that should be undone, that the newspaper helps to normalize torture when it hands one of its limited supplies of megaphones to a man whose claim to fame is working to justfy such an abuse of basic human rights.
But I think the real news was buried deep in the show, and it came during a broader discussion of the Inquirer's lineup of op-ed columnists, which recently added not just Yoo but ex-Sen. Rick Santorum and other conservatives, which was done -- by the admission of Tierney and Inquirer editorial page editor Harold Jackson -- to counter a perception of liberal bias at the paper, or I should say a perception of a perception of liberal bias. I noted my sense that real liberals don't feel they have that kind of voice at the Inquirer, not someone who's a pit-bull kind of advocate for progressive causes the way that a Santorum or a Yoo fights for his conservative side. The Inquirer columnists that folks tend to lump in the liberal category -- like political columnist Dick Polman, to name one -- are career journalists who may tilt leftward on some issues but aren't really "movement liberals," either.
In the Interesting Timing Department, the Inquirer just this Sunday added a new op-ed columnist with a Democratic pedigree, the former political operative Susan Estrich. Eh... She was a major Hillary Clinton backer in 2008, for sure, but her recent work for conservative outlets like Fox News Channel and Newsmax makes her a little (understandably) suspect to people on the left, who I think would like to see their own kind of firebrand. So the news yesterday was that Tierney responded to all this by saying he'd love to hear the list of true, outspoken and unapologetic liberals deserving a regular op-ed voice in the Inquirer.
So...let's give him a list! I don't know if anything will really come of this (and I still think Yoo must go, regardless) but I think it will at the least be a fun exercise...especially when our conservative friends weigh in with their choices, as you'll surely read in the comments below. I'll even start with a couple of suggestions -- you'll see that I think having Philadelphia connections is a plus, not a necessity.
1) David Sirota. This one is literally too easy. Like John Yoo, Sirota is a product of the Philadelphia region (Montgomery County) who eventually moved to, literally, greener pastures -- the Mountain West, where he's been a political advisor, a blogger, and a best-selling author of books like The Uprising. In fact, David already writes a weekly syndicated column, so we know he's up to the task. His specialty is economic issues with a strong populist, working-class bent -- which would be a good thing in a city such as Philadelphia, don't you think?
2) A top Philly blogger. As I noted here last week, Philadelphia is one of the progressive blogging capitals of the Free World, which would be kind of cool for the largest newspaper here to recognize instead of telling "those bloggers" to get off its lawn. Susie Madrak is a true blue-collar voice, a product of rowhouse Philly who won awards for her political journalism in Delaware County. (I happen to know her life ambition is, or was, anyway, to columnize for us here at the Daily News, but she might settle for the Inquirer :-) ) Afro-netizen Chris Rabb is a top local voice who should be heard louder, a former Yale Daily News columnist (so we know he's up to the task) who's active in social causes and sometimes local Democratic politics when he's not blogging. Duncan "Atrios" Black is an Ivy League-educated economist who loves wonky issues like mass transit and urban/suburban development, although I seriously doubt he's bucking for the job.
3) A non-Philadelphian? Well, that broadens the list, doesn't it? Al Franken's going to be tied up for the next five and a half years, but when I think of a real liberal -- as opposed to traditional journalist with a liberal bent -- I think of someone like Jim Hightower, a former Texas agriculture commissioner who's a populist rabble-rouser and who's already been writing a syndicated column. And those are just a few names off the top of my head -- I'm sure people out there have some better ideas.
UPDATE: How could I forget this guy? (Did I mention that he knows Springsteen?)
Heck, if people are going to accuse the Inquirer and its op-ed page of "liberal bias," why not give them a good reason?
Great premise, Will, but getting rid of blind partisans like Santorum and Yoo is vital, since neither can offer an opinion without stringing up a series of straw men. That's simply dishonest, and a fine newspaper should not be involved with such dishonesty.— SpinDentist- I'd go with Brendan Skwire. Pay him exactly what you pay Santorum and once a week instead of once every two weeks. Brendan would write rings around Santorum.— SpinDentist
Comment removed.- Glenn Greenwald from Salon. Always even handed, rarely makes mistakes, it ever.— SchoolMom101
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- bill, not all debates have to be contentious shouting matches. You do not have to be the loudest voice in the room to make your points, no matter how much you disagree with the other person. I am sure neither of them was looking for a fight -- just a chance to listen and debate like adults.— Master Dreamz
If it's a question of balancing the ship against the likes of Yoo and Santorum, I'd suggest Philly native Mumia.- Just the fact that you can't see the liberal bias that permeates almost every story (not just opinion columns) shows just how bad both papers have become. You are only left with the liberals who continue to read the paper so they feel so much smarter than everyone else. Nice job kissing your boss's butt, Bunch. I couldd hear the smooches from here.— JingoGuy
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Cynthia McKinney....now, there's a lib for ya!!— rudytbone- Bill, Have you ever heard about balance in the media? Inquire and Daily News are losing readers. Are they too much on one side of the political scale? The owners of Inquire and DN have a financial stake in the success of their investment and they have an obligation to their readers to be fair and balanced. So bring on the right and give me some balance. I can handle it, can you??? Blackstone— blackstone
- susie would be a great choice. msartin longman would also be good,especially on foreign policy questions. I don't know chris rabb. Duncan's not a column writer, so he'd be no good. sirota's a demagogue. To toot my own horn, I am the living breathing opposite of that miserable christine flowers woman, and if they're paying the same rate they pay santorum or yoo, that would be a GREAT supplement to my income.— brendancalling
- i didn't notice spindentist recommneded me already. thanks spin!— brendancalling
The Inqy just doesn't get it. We need balanced reporting, not a balanced editorial page.
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