In the name of hardcore journalism, Jossip's editor is currently blogging from Miami, and covering the trial of Jack Abramoff. Yeah, not really, she's just here stalking discarded celeb left in the wayside by the spring break hang-over. (Any Miami readers out there, send in your party tips!)
Anyways, we were out on the beach an hour ago (ha ha) when Jack Abramoff was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison for fraud … and when we saw this guy on TV, we didn't even make the connection! Who's this? we thought. Where's the trench coat Abe? What about the sleuth spy fedora?
"In the past few years I have begun the process of becoming a new man," he said.
Wearing a dark suit and tan, baseball-style cap, Abramoff arrived at the courthouse several hours early, avoiding the media. He and his lawyers did not speak to reporters as they left the courthouse.
We guess the process of change is now complete, as signified by the baseball cap and suit. Either that or he's started selling his more standard outfits on eBay to pay off the $21 million restitution sentence.
Plus, anyone who shows up to their cell in a freakin' trench coat, is gonna' get his ass beat in no time.
Ex-lobbyist Abramoff gets prison sentence [CNN]
• Radar, Sync, and Breathe all let the IV drips run out on their online lives. [Fishbowl NY]
• He lies, cheats, steals … and kills? Abramoff is a Jack. [HuffPo]
• We've been looking forward to James Brady's insider media dish, but … we got a Bonnie Fuller re-cap instead. (Still, it is refreshing to see a media man take the high road now and then.) [Forbes]
• Bill O'Reilly's about to get some competition for conservative viewers — William Bennett is added to the roster of CNN commentators. [MSNBC]
• Teaching journalism is much more difficult than actually "doing" journalism. At least when you're trying to teach CUNY kids. [NYSun]
It is always a sad day when a blog gets shut down. While it is obviously less tragic when that blog is the Washington Post's, it still almost brings a tear to our eye.
The Post's blog, open to the public since Nov. 21, was shut indefinitely yesterday afternoon with a notice from Jim Brady, executive editor of www.washingtonpost.com.
Mr. Brady wrote that he had expected criticism of The Post on the site, but that the public had violated rules against personal attacks and profanity.
These personal attacks were against Deborah Howell, after she made an "unintentional comment" about Jack Abramoff and the Democratic Party.
(We still don't really see a difference between: several Democrats have gotten Abramoff campaign money and they received campaign money from Mr. Abramoff's clients, but either way, she pissed some dems off bad.)
Personal attacks? Profanity? These types of things don't belong on a blog! What do they think this blogging thing is, some kind of crazy experiment in freedom of speech and expression?
Oh, those crazy, crazy WaPos.
Paper Decides to Close Blog, Citing Vitriol [Katharine Q. Seelye]
• If we were going to be pissed at Rupert Murdoch for something relating to Myspace, it would be about Kevin Federline's real profile or Jake Gyllenhaal's fake one. [Independent]
• Because the press wasn't broke enough to being with, now we have Jack Abramoff to contribute to the disgustingly low salaries of EAs. [NYT]
• Men's mag Giant goes Mischa Barton monthly — but for not long enough to get on the pill. [WWD]
• These Arts & Leisure kids are crazy! It's like New York Times Gone Wild, where (thank god) everyone stays clothed. [NYO]
• We only stop making jokes when it comes to respected journalists being murdered. [WaPo]
We sort of understand why the Army, the Navy and all those soldier fighters aren't allowed to blog. They'll be blown up or get BCTs dropped on them or something. But the Washington Times staff? According to the Chicago Tribune, journos qualify as the type of "brilliant people" who should be allowed to blog. We don't understand.
Our bloggod Jim Romenesko explains: when Audrey Hudson's ran her mouth about Jack Abramoff on her personal blog, Wesley Pruden got a little pissed.
Memo from Washington Times editor-in-chief Wesley Pruden:
Any staff member who plans to set up or regularly contribute to an Internet blog, Web site, or other electronic billboard, posting service or message distribution system must first request and obtain permission from senior editors. We anticipate that most such requests will be granted if they come under these general conditions:
Oh, we so wish we could be there to watch the staffers run their Myspace and JDate accounts past Pruden for approval. Full memo after the jump.
Memo from Washington Times editor-in-chief Wesley Pruden [Jim Romenesko, Poynter]
Earlier: Operation Blogger Freedom
CONTINUED »
• Almost as behind the times as the Times, Jon Friedman decides that Gawker is cooler than Page Six. That and other such astute observations from Jon-Jon to follow. [Media Web]
• At Good Morning America, nothing says "great job!" like a little plastic trophy from the 99 cent store. [NYO]
• People needs people, and so does the People Group. [Gawker]
• Our person of day award goes to David Letterman. And Matt Drudge has not a mention of this truly heroic event. [Romenesko, HuffPo]
• The New York Times budget cuts include band-aides and the building nurse. Staffers have been warned that if they attempt suicide at work, nobody will be there help them. [Page Six]
• George Bush gives Jack Abramoff's money right back. God forbid the White House be suspected of any shifty business. [AP News]
