Good Journalism

Most mainstream journalists either can't or won't do their job. There are a few decent journalists, like Brian Williams and Garland Robinette, but he's overwhelmed by an army of Katie Couric's, Sean Hannity's, and Rob Couhig's.

If you know where to look, though, you can still find great journalism. There are certain traits that they all hold to: very smart, very direct, and all know the powerful effect of humor. I'm going to label this the "Wise Guy" school of journalism. Here's my list of Wise Guys:

Michael Lewis. He's the first one to really break into the mainstream with Liar's Poker and Moneyball.

The eXile. A magazine founded by Mark Ames and Matt Taaibi (see below) for expats in Russia. Never had to worry about libel, so they had complete and total freedom. While Taibbi moved on, the eXile still turns out a quality product. Scathing and real.

Matt Taibbi. Nobody represents the "Wise Guys" more than Taibbi. A literary decendant of the Gonzo journalism movement, he fashions himself as a modern day H. L. Mencken.

Dave Zirin / Will Leitch/Deadspin. I'd heard of Zirin before Rising Tide, so he's not just on the list for that. I also suppose I could put the whole Gawker group (Wonkette, etc.) in there as well.

The Beast. The American version of the eXile. They have to watch what they say far more than the eXile because of libel laws, though.

I'm also going to say that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are intellectual cousins of the Wise Guys, so I'll include them on the list, too.

There you have it. This is the cream of the crop of modern journalism. One can only hope someone from the networks reads this and gives one of them an anchor chair.

Zirin continues his crusade

Sorry about no posts yesterday. Cox is currently sucking a cock, so no internet. I've got to head out to a coffeeshop to write.

Zirin's article in the Houston Chronicle about Rising Tide... Did you get the memo?

Here's the Deadspin interview I said was in the pipeline... Really interesting. The first comment is "You had me at Troglodytic Deadspin commenter."

Zirin

Dave Zirin was the keynote speaker at Rising Tide. His talk was a smash hit, as I'm sure you've heard.

I had heard of him before this on Deadspin and places like that. He's one of those guys that's been really interesting and I've always been meaning to read his stuff, but never gotten around to it.

The writing seminar was a bit boring (although I'm told the second half was much better), so I went out and chatted with him. I ended up buying his book and he signed it (with, "PS- You're with me, leather"). Oh yeah, I'm surprised no body linked to this, but here is the Jocks for Justice page

Check his book out. Also, keep a lookout over at Deadspin. Rumor has it, they'll be interviewing him very soon. Deadspin interviews are always EXTREMELY interesting. Check out this one with Harold Reynolds.