Brendan Calling

Jennifer, Oh Jenny.

Open Letter to Sun-Times columnist/publisher’s wife Jennifer Hunter, who believes bloggers are “young” and “bored”.

Dear Ms. Hunter,

You write, “In the end, who has time to blog? After reading four newspapers each day and my e-mails and doing my work, I’ve had it. Blogging remains a luxury for the young — or the bored.”

What is your definition of “young”? Most of the bloggers I know, and Philadelphia is home to many to the country’s best and most well-known of the genre, are in their 30s-60s. Richard Blair, for example, at the All Spin Zone is in his early 50s, as are the ASZ’s other writers known as Spin Dentist and Somegirl (actually let me correct that: both are in their mid to late 40s). Susan Madrak, who writes Suburban Guerilla, is in her late 40s. Jane Hamsher, of firedoglake, is in her 40s, as is her colleague Chrsty Hardin Smith. Duncan Black, who publishes atrios, is 37. These are all people I know personally and interact with on a weekly basis face-to-face (with the exception of the firedoglake crew). How old are you, and what constitutes “young” in your mind?

Furthermore, I don’t understand where the “bored” part comes in. Ms. Madrak is working for the Knox for Mayor campaign. Hamsher and Smith were cited by the NY Times as a primary resource for coverage of the Libby trial. Mr. Black works for Media Matters of America, and is a frequent guest on radio shows. I don’t understand why you would assume that these people are “bored”, unless you define “bored” as “passionate about writing about current events.”
Could you explain your definition of “bored” to me? Why would you, a writer, criticize other writers for writing by characterizing them as “bored”? Doesn’t this mean that you’re bored too? After all, you write an awful lot about politics too.

Finally, you ask “who has time to blog”? The answer is clear: one makes time for anything one is passionate about. I make time to blog the same way I make time to practice music, the same way I make time to play with my son, the same way I make time to work in my garden. I am pushing 40 and not “young” except perhaps from an 80-year old’s perspective. Between work, family, and personal life, I am certainly not bored.

Perhaps you don’t have time to blog because you don’t have a passion for writing anymore. I can see how that would happen after 31 years of writing about stiletto heels and interviewing Hulk Hogan.

Brendan Skwire
Philadelphia, PA

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