On the evening of January 22, a few hours after his administration's debut news conference, Barack Obama made a surprise visit to the cramped quarters of the White House press corps. It was meant to be a friendly event, and Obama glad-handed his way through reporters and cameramen, exchanging light banter as he went.
But Politico reporter Jonathan Martin wasn't there to chat. Martin pressed Obama about the president's decision to nominate William J. Lynn III, a former defense lobbyist, to deputy defense secretary and about Obama's pledge to curtail the influence of lobbyists. The exchange turned tense. "See, this is what happens. I can't end up visiting with you guys and shaking hands if I'm going to get grilled every time I come down here," a visibly exasperated Obama said. Martin wouldn't relent. "I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself to you guys--that's all I was trying to do," the president added. Within an hour, Martin and Politico writer Carrie Budoff Brown reported the exchange on Politico's website: "OBAMA FLASHES IRRITATION IN PRESS ROOM," the headline read.
It was--as world events go--a small story. But Politico writers and editors are masters of knowing what will make prime time. Within a few hours, both The Huffington Post and Drudge Report linked to the story, and, by that evening, the conservative blogosphere lit up with items detailing the exchange. The next morning, Rush Limbaugh used the exchange to mock the new president ("You're not supposed to ask The Messiah questions unless he's cleared it," he sniffed). By the end of the day, the "affair" had made the rounds on CNN and Fox News.
If the 2004 campaign belonged to the blogs, this year's presidential contest was defined by the rise of the Web-print venture founded by banking scion and emerging media mogul Robert Allbritton and headed by Washington Post veterans John Harris and Jim VandeHei. From the start, their aim with Politico was to combine the Web's rapid-fire capacity with the legitimacy of traditional newspapering. Journalistically, their strategy was to out-report and outpace the newspapers that dominated election coverage, to get links up before readers reached their desks and BlackBerries in the morning, and to keep the news items going all afternoon for the prime-time cable pundits to digest at night.
And it worked. Politico succeeded in muscling its way into the political journalism firmament by the sheer volume of reporting and a shrewd--some might say obsessive--focus on the gossipy Beltway scoops and gaffes that appeal to the tabloid sensibility of Drudge and cable news. Politico's readership spiked during the election, attracting 4.6 million unique readers in September 2008 (that's about one-third of the Post's online readership). The following month, Nielsen ranked Politico the ninth-most-visited newspaper website in the country. Politico broke stories about John McCain forgetting how many homes he owned and Sarah Palin's six-figure wardrobe budget--stories that dominated the news cycle for days and forced establishment papers like The New York Times to follow with front-page stories. On Election Day, Chris Matthews crowed on "Hardball" that Politico was the "hottest political team in town," and wondered "is that still around, The Washington Post?"
That Politico was helped by the collapse of print journalism goes without saying. That it was also helped by cable news' insatiable appetite for the tabloid and the personal is also clear. But, two years into the Politico experiment, there is fascination around Washington with what could be considered the first Internet newspaper, and whether it represents a way to make a business out of political reporting. As traditional newspapers jettison staff, Politico is holding steady. This month, Allbritton told me the venture will turn a profit in six months. "We're way ahead of budget," he said. "It wouldn't surprise me if the profit this year would count in the millions of dollars."
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COMMENTS (19)
Legitimate journalism? From something more resembling a gossip sheet?
Legitimate journalism? From something more resembling a gossip sheet?
Politico doesn't hire black people. That needs to be reported.
Thank You.
Politico doesn't hire black people. That needs to be reported.
Thank You.
Killing journalism? The site may stink but lets not get hysterical.
Also....Why can non subscribers comment on some things and not others right here at TNR? Id say Politico treats the common man better than TNR!
Killing journalism? The site may stink but lets not get hysterical.
Also....Why can non subscribers comment on some things and not others right here at TNR? Id say Politico treats the common man better than TNR!
I love how all of their accomplishments - breaking hte 8 houses story, the wardrobe, and on and on, all of these stories DON'T REALLY MATTER. Its as if the founders and the writers intentionally avoid substantive articles about policy, and instead focus on bullshi**y gossip about process. Does it really matter that McCain forgot about his houses. Funnny, and perhaps a great talking point, but by itself its irrelevant. This is just as true for all the BS they broke about Obama. Vandehei and Harris should take a step back and realize that they actually are hurting this country amplifying the asinine idiocy of cable news.
I love how all of their accomplishments - breaking hte 8 houses story, the wardrobe, and on and on, all of these stories DON'T REALLY MATTER. Its as if the founders and the writers intentionally avoid substantive articles about policy, and instead focus on bullshi**y gossip about process. Does it really matter that McCain forgot about his houses. Funnny, and perhaps a great talking point, but by itself its irrelevant. This is just as true for all the BS they broke about Obama. Vandehei and Harris should take a step back and realize that they actually are hurting this country amplifying the asinine idiocy of cable news.
I enjoyed this site for awhile, but it began to feel like a gossip session with 18 year old mean girls. The maturity level is at times quite juvenille. Much worse, they too often titilate rather than illuminate. They could do better.
I enjoyed this site for awhile, but it began to feel like a gossip session with 18 year old mean girls. The maturity level is at times quite juvenille. Much worse, they too often titilate rather than illuminate. They could do better.
This is pretty frightening. No long-form journalism? Nothing but bullshit gaffes? Is this what we're headed toward?
This is pretty frightening. No long-form journalism? Nothing but bullshit gaffes? Is this what we're headed toward?
Thank you "fox news light." They have a color problem.
Thank you "fox news light." They have a color problem.
I started noticing Politico shortly after it came out on the streets, and gradually began reading it more and more often. It is now a must-read for me at least twice a week. I haven't noticed much in the way of erroneous rumors or stories, although I'm sure their quick-release format causes some. I also haven't noticed a party or political bias, right or left. In other words, they seem to me to be geared toward printing as much political news as they can, as quickly as they can. Since political news has a shelf life of about a day, speed is a virtue. Their stories also have some punch and bite to them, and their columnists are willing to take a stand and analyze. This is all good. I ... view full comment
I started noticing Politico shortly after it came out on the streets, and gradually began reading it more and more often. It is now a must-read for me at least twice a week. I haven't noticed much in the way of erroneous rumors or stories, although I'm sure their quick-release format causes some. I also haven't noticed a party or political bias, right or left. In other words, they seem to me to be geared toward printing as much political news as they can, as quickly as they can. Since political news has a shelf life of about a day, speed is a virtue. Their stories also have some punch and bite to them, and their columnists are willing to take a stand and analyze. This is all good. I still read the NYTimes and Post and print weeklies for more lengthy stories and for depth, but Politico is (as salesmen love to say) a "value-added" product. And in this economic climate, that is an amazing achievement!
The Obama administration is trying to slow down the 24/7 news cycle. Obama wants the space to deliberate. Scoop and gotcha web sites, along with cable, push it to warp speed. The real issue will be which of these two antagonists win out over the next year.
Obama refuses to dumb things down (see last week's press conference) and the public loves it. The gotcha press refuses to understand this. It is constantly misreading public sentiment.
Politico had an 'analysis piece" two weeks ago about how Obama blew it on the recovery package. The House Republicans had gained the initiative.
GIVE ME A BREAK. This is an awfully shallow analysis for D.C. political reporters. What matters in politics i ... view full comment
The Obama administration is trying to slow down the 24/7 news cycle. Obama wants the space to deliberate. Scoop and gotcha web sites, along with cable, push it to warp speed. The real issue will be which of these two antagonists win out over the next year.
Obama refuses to dumb things down (see last week's press conference) and the public loves it. The gotcha press refuses to understand this. It is constantly misreading public sentiment.
Politico had an 'analysis piece" two weeks ago about how Obama blew it on the recovery package. The House Republicans had gained the initiative.
GIVE ME A BREAK. This is an awfully shallow analysis for D.C. political reporters. What matters in politics is who wins. Obama got an unprecedented package out within a month of his presidency. He'll live or die by it, of course. But he won.
To give the 24/7 news cycle 'wins' by the Republican House members more coverage (credit) than the passing of the package itself should be embarrassing to any 'in the know' Washington reporter.
With a core of experienced Washingtonians who understand the tempo and process of passing legislation, Politico could have given insight into why Obama did not propose his own bill in light of wanting a quick passage and explained the convoluted 'sausage' politics of Hill negotiation. They chose not to. Instead, they tried to inflict blood where there wasn't even a wound.
The devolution of Campaign 2008 into scoops, sound-bites and misrepresentation was rejected by the public. And even after ferocious,though often puerile, partisan attacks on the stimulus bill, the public supports Obama in huge margins.
This is a new administration. We need new reporters. The old ones can't get past the last 20 years.
Gabriel Sherman reports on Politico's rapid, quick-response culture as if it were an amazing, unprecedented thing. Gabriel: based on your article, it would appear that Politico is operating in the same manner that high-tech companies--and particularly high-tech startups, such as Google, Yahoo, and many many others in their early days--operate. Politico has imported that to Washington. Wow. Woo hoo; extra "hoo."
Like all startups, it remains to be seen whether their business model will survive. In the meantime, I'm with David: when are they going to report on stories that *actually matter*?
Gabriel Sherman reports on Politico's rapid, quick-response culture as if it were an amazing, unprecedented thing. Gabriel: based on your article, it would appear that Politico is operating in the same manner that high-tech companies--and particularly high-tech startups, such as Google, Yahoo, and many many others in their early days--operate. Politico has imported that to Washington. Wow. Woo hoo; extra "hoo."
Like all startups, it remains to be seen whether their business model will survive. In the meantime, I'm with David: when are they going to report on stories that *actually matter*?
Faults aside, I think there's something good to be said for the way Politico is so driven to produce the news. It does accomplish something.
Faults aside, I think there's something good to be said for the way Politico is so driven to produce the news. It does accomplish something.
Politico is more relevant than The New Republic, which would be a sad commentary on the state of the media, but now is just a sad commentary on the state of The New Republic.
Politico is more relevant than The New Republic, which would be a sad commentary on the state of the media, but now is just a sad commentary on the state of The New Republic.
Fox News Light: they can hire whoever they want. The race card was played along time ago, we're on to a new deck now.
Fox News Light: they can hire whoever they want. The race card was played along time ago, we're on to a new deck now.
Who said anything about a race-card? I just said hire some black people, especially if Roger Simon wants to start commenting on race in his articles...
Maybe they want to be more like the NY Post...you know, once I think about it they are much closer to the Post than the Times.
Who said anything about a race-card? I just said hire some black people, especially if Roger Simon wants to start commenting on race in his articles...
Maybe they want to be more like the NY Post...you know, once I think about it they are much closer to the Post than the Times.
Politico doesn't hire black people, Politico has a color problem. We didn't land on Plymouth Rock; Plymouth Rock landed on *us*!
Get a life. The president is black, etc, etc
Politico doesn't hire black people, Politico has a color problem. We didn't land on Plymouth Rock; Plymouth Rock landed on *us*!
Get a life. The president is black, etc, etc
The Allbrittons owned The Washington Star in the 1970s, and under their stewardship it spiraled downward before they sold it off to Time Inc., which proved unable to resuscitate it before it folded in 1981. We all know what happened to Riggs Bank, which was not only scandal-ridden but had a reputation in the community that was so stinky PNC Bank literally replaced all of the Riggs Bank signs overnight to erase any trace of the trademark. Despite having both a broadcast news and a cable news operation, the Chaqnnel 7-NewsChannel 8 combo rarely breaks any establishment-shaking news, and it recently laid off a sizable number of reporters. The Politico has been a pleasant surprise, but only when ... view full comment
The Allbrittons owned The Washington Star in the 1970s, and under their stewardship it spiraled downward before they sold it off to Time Inc., which proved unable to resuscitate it before it folded in 1981. We all know what happened to Riggs Bank, which was not only scandal-ridden but had a reputation in the community that was so stinky PNC Bank literally replaced all of the Riggs Bank signs overnight to erase any trace of the trademark. Despite having both a broadcast news and a cable news operation, the Chaqnnel 7-NewsChannel 8 combo rarely breaks any establishment-shaking news, and it recently laid off a sizable number of reporters. The Politico has been a pleasant surprise, but only when measured against the low expectations cultivated by the Allbrittons' mediocre management of their past news ventures. What The Politico must do better is to help people understand the consequences of the decisions members of Congress make, don't make or are about to make; it's less entertaining than titillating insider gossip but of far greater value.
Politico is hardly post-print journalism--it's print journalism...on the web. How inventive is that? What about better experiments like FLYP media (www.flypmedia.com), which at least tries to expand journalistic boundaries for the new digital age?
Politico is hardly post-print journalism--it's print journalism...on the web. How inventive is that? What about better experiments like FLYP media (www.flypmedia.com), which at least tries to expand journalistic boundaries for the new digital age?
That newsroom must be a pressure cooker of frustration, drive, ego, and everything else. But it's true that the rewards today come entirely
from scooplets; stories quicky turned around and drive page views. There is no payoff for analytical, in-depth pieces, or much desire to pay people for it. Newsrooms want quantity, page views, and hard hitting stuff. The only thing that matters are page views.
That newsroom must be a pressure cooker of frustration, drive, ego, and everything else. But it's true that the rewards today come entirely
from scooplets; stories quicky turned around and drive page views. There is no payoff for analytical, in-depth pieces, or much desire to pay people for it. Newsrooms want quantity, page views, and hard hitting stuff. The only thing that matters are page views.
It is unfortunate that Politico in its efforts to be the first in always publishing the "scoops", often outs out information that either outright wrong, or twisted in some way.
Politico is expert at both creating mountains out of molehills, and if no molehills already exist, its reporters will invent them.
It is unfortunate that Politico in its efforts to be the first in always publishing the "scoops", often outs out information that either outright wrong, or twisted in some way.
Politico is expert at both creating mountains out of molehills, and if no molehills already exist, its reporters will invent them.