Discourse.net/Dan Froomkin

'A refresher on how the press failed the people'

My brother Dan has a good memory, and uses it to write A refresher on how the press failed the people (on Iraq) at Nieman Watchdog.

Of course, that’s not the only issue on which one could make that critique, but it’s certainly one of the biggest.

Update: Does this qualify as an answer to The Seth Leibsohn Challenge?

Not a Party Animal Anymore

My brother’s White House Watch column today, entitled Party of the Damned, is particularly mordant.

(revised for clarity)

What Do the GOP Candidates Think of Bush

This seems to be promote-Dan-day or something, but be sure to see the great questions at
Rating Bush, on a scale of 1 to 10:

Republican candidates avoid talking about President Bush, for obvious reasons. But journalists should press them to say what they think of Bush’s legacy, which elements of his presidency they would emulate, and which they would reject.

And then he has a little list…

What He Said (Congress AWOL Dept.)

My brother says:

Historians looking back on the Bush presidency may well wonder if Congress actually existed.

Exactly.

And the FISA vote is coming up in the next couple of days.

For the Record

Despite what Atrios seems to think we are Ashkenazi, not Sephardic.

Dan Froomkin Responds to Questions

My brother the famous columnist takes questions every so often over at washingtonpost.com. I think these are often even more fun then the columns — maybe he should do radio?

I especially liked this Q&A from yesterday:

Springfield, Va.: If called upon to say something positive about the president, what would you say?

Dan Froomkin: He is in really, really great shape.

And Here's A Picture

My Brother Will Be On 'Hardball'

I gather Dan will be on TV in a few minutes on, of all things, “Hardball”.

It’s things like this which will make me buy a TV some day.

Update: Then again, maybe not? One of my kids found the video out there on this Internet thingie.

Update2: And here’s some more.

And still more.

Dan's Widget

I’ve added a Washington Post “widget” to the right margin that promotes my brother’s column. I like the column; I don’t like the widget very much — it blinks too much. But I’m going to try it for at least a few days before I decide if it’s too distracting.

It’s probably time to re-design the entire site, but I just don’t have the time.

Journalism 101

My brother has an article up at Nieman Watchdog entitled How the press can prevent another Iraq. It’s nothing more than a reminder of basic journalism: don’t believe everything a government official tells you; ask for proof. Use common sense.

It’s absolutely amazing that any of this needs to be said to professionals. We knew this kind of stuff when we were high school journalists.

And yet, it does need to be said, because for some reason most reporters these days don’t do their jobs.