Or more specifically – why do I care?
I know lots of people could CARE LESS about this story. It’s stupid. It’s inconsequential. I’m obsessed.
Guess what? I look at hardcore football fans the same way. Or dedicated rock climbers. Or serious opera fans. Not my things.
But guess what? I don’t judge. Those people like those things because they like ‘em. Whatever. More power to them. Passion is good.
So, this is my current story. Why?
First – what I DON’T care about..
- · I don’t really care about the sex part.
- · I don’t have it in for Anthony Weiner. I agree with Weiner on a lot of issues. Didn’t know a heck of lot about him
- · I don’t care because I work with Breitbart. And the reasons HE cares are very close to mine. Anyone who knows him knows this is true. He’s not in ideologue. This is why we’re friends.
What I do care about…
1) It’s interesting being in a story early and watching how it expands and moves through the media. I don’t care what the story – it’s interesting to watch. I’ve had it happen a few times. It’s like watching dominoes fall but more random.
2) It’s interesting watching media bias. Who will cover? Why did they spin it that way?
3) It’s fun knowing more about a story than almost anyone in the world – being part of a relatively small group of insiders.
4) Watching politicians wriggle is always fun
5) It’s a puzzle! There are a lot of unanswered questions in this.
6) It’s a mystery playing out in real time. My Dad used to say he liked sports because they were unpredictable, unless movies (for example) where you knew the hero would win. News is unpredictable.
7) It’s a story that allows tangential posts about topics I’m interested in, like this one about sex scandals and the myth of partisanship.
8) Meeting people – it becomes a little story club. I’ve met some great people already.
i agree with #2.
which is why it is laughable you claim to be a liberal.
I feel like I’ve been tweeting to you way to much, but like you I am completely enthralled with this story and you certainly have been the person to follow to stay on top of it. I will admit as someone who doesn’t care for Weiner a little bit of me doesn’t mind seeing him in trouble. But its so much more than that.
I was online Friday when this all broke. I read the story on Big Journalism, then immediate went and confirmed the tweet’s existence on the congressional twitter page. I also found the infamous patriot76 RT which on my computer still showed the photo despite it being deleted from yfrog. (At which point i checked the url to confirm it was the same as in Weiner’s tweet, but I digress.) So more than just seeing it from the beginning I was able to view all of the evidence first hand. From there it got even more interesting as I watched a Kos comment that I mentioned on this blog about the screen capture being a fake, go from a simple comment, to Kos’s smoking gun, to mainstream media outlets. I was shocked because it took me less than 15 minutes to confirm that the picture the Bigs had reported did indeed come from his account.
Now the most intriguing part to me, and my “smoking gun” if you will is Weiner’s reactions. I have spent the lat 5 years working in the Loss Prevention business while getting through grad school. The number one thing I pay attention to when determining if a customer or employee will steal is their behavior. Weiner’s behavior that night on twitter and since, sends off all those same alarm bells that thieves do at my work.
As a person who loves mysteries, loves finding the truth (whether it proves me right or wrong) and is a constant critic of lazy/biased/inaccurate reporting this story has me hooked.
Media bias isn’t just liberal/conservative. I am a huge hockey fan and in that circle you have the “Canadian media.” This is the media that constantly reports the woes of American teams (because they should all be in Canada) while ignoring the financial woes of Canadian teams. There was one reporter so eager to prove that this ownership group was not going to buy a team (because they wouldn’t move it to Canada) that he reported a tip on April Fool’s Day that not only was so outlandish it was unbelievable, but that contradicted all of his prior reporting. (He had claimed they had no money but the tip said they were buying a soccer team for 3 times the money they didn’t have) Of course it was wrong, but it fit his narrative so he didn’t bother to check it (sounds like a Kos report I just mentioned hmm)
You know, Lee, I have been following along with you since John Edwards days and even though I know you are progressive and I am probably conservative (more like Andrew, I think) I admire you so much because you refuse to see anything but the truth and you search for it - no matter what the initial after the name is - D or R. I really appreciate your tenacity on these stories. Thanks so much.
Lee, what strange bedfellows politics make. I seem to mirror Janetoo in that I am a Conservative, yet I admire your veracity in uncovering bias, regardless of party. I found myself defending you in the Fark thread I sent to you. I stand by that. And by you, as long as you remain unbiased. Even if next time it is one of “my guys”. Job well done on Weiner. Gosh, that sounds so wrong, yet so right.