Shameless Self-Promotion: An Open Letter to the Daily News and Philadelphia Inquirer
Copyright Ray Skwire
Dear Mr. Tierney, Mr. Jackson, Ms. Shea, and Mr. Schefer:
Your on-staff blogger Will Bunch made an accurate observation last night:
But I think the real news was buried deep in the show, and it came during a broader discussion of the Inquirer’s lineup of op-ed columnists, which recently added not just Yoo but ex-Sen. Rick Santorum and other conservatives, which was done — by the admission of Tierney and Inquirer editorial page editor Harold Jackson — to counter a perception of liberal bias at the paper, or I should say a perception of a perception of liberal bias. I noted my sense that real liberals don’t feel they have that kind of voice at the Inquirer, not someone who’s a pit-bull kind of advocate for progressive causes the way that a Santorum or a Yoo fights for his conservative side. The Inquirer columnists that folks tend to lump in the liberal category — like political columnist Dick Polman, to name one — are career journalists who may tilt leftward on some issues but aren’t really “movement liberals,” either.
Bunch is correctly identifies this missing voice at the Inquirer (and for that matter the Daily News), and asks for suggestions for real local liberals. I’d like to draw your attention to the second comment on his post, published at 11:24 pm:
I’d go with Brendan Skwire. Pay him exactly what you pay Santorum and once a week instead of once every two weeks. Brendan would write rings around Santorum.”
The commenter (who, in the interest of full disclosure, I know personally although I didn’t know he wrote this until this morning) is right: I can and do write rings around Rick Santorum. And Christine Flowers. And Kevin Ferris. And John Yoo, a writer whose only remarkable characteristic is that he embodies what Hannah Arendt called “the banality of evil”, right down to the yawning stupor of his dull and hamhanded text.
There are so many reasons why I should be offered a paid column at the Inquirer or the Daily News. I’m fresher, funnier, and more relevant than any of these writers; I’ve got local name recognition thanks to the cover of the Philly Weekly; I’ve been a guest writer at several blogs, including local blogs like All Spin Zone and Suburban Guerilla, and national blogs like Firedoglake; and I have a passion for the interests of my low-income, working class community in southwest Philadelphia.
My work, which includes the script for the Philadelphia Eagles video, a parody of Harold Jackson’s defense of John Yoo, and a series of articles about how my neighborhood would be affected by Mayor Nutter’s cuts to essential services were widely read with major impact. The Eagles video went viral, ending up on the front page of Philly.com, where it engendered not only a response from the Eagles, but from the Mayor himself, who is now going after the $8 million our city is owed. The Harold Jackson parody was linked by Duncan Black, who publishes the widely-read blog Atrios/eschaton, generating nearly 5,000 hits at my blog in a 24 hour period: this parody went national, and was linked from all over the US. My work surrounding the Mayor’s cuts put me on the cover of the Philadelphia Weekly in December 2008.
I bring a perspective that none of the current conservative writers at the Inquirer (or for that matter the Daily News) can offer: not only am I a fire-breating lefty community activist who’s unafraid to take controversial stances, I’m a member of the working poor, and I dish it out to Democrats as well as Republicans. When was the last time any of your current columnists (collectively, a right wing lawyer, a right wing lawyer, and a right wing lawyer) had to choose between “heat or eat”, as I have done almost every winter for the past 4 years? Do any of these well-heeled writers really represent the views of the millions of working people (most of them Democrats) who live in Philadelphia? I think not. John Yoo’s taste for torture cheesesteaks when he visits the city is immaterial, and of all three, only Flowers lives and works in the city.
Philadelphians deserve a “true, outspoken and unapologetic liberal” as an alternative to your current stable of unapologetic conservatives, not just “career journalists who may tilt leftward on some issues but aren’t really “movement liberals”. And while I think many of the names Will Bunch offered are superb writers (especially Susie Madrak), it’s my blog so I’m making my pitch: hire me, and pay me what you pay Rick Santorum. I won’t let you down: as it stands I already generate more columns, of higher quality, and with better fact-checking, than Rick, John, and Christine put together (not to mention your other right-wing pundits Kevin Ferris and Michael Smerconish).
Give a real local guy a shot. Resume available on request. And hey, if i crash and burn you can always say “i told you so.”
Sincerely,
Brendan Skwire
May 27th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
I dunno about the Inky or Daily News. But I think I know of a (significantly less lucrative than what Santorum’s making) paying gig.
Drop me a line: jmathis (at) philadelphiaweekly.com
May 27th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
i will do so! (after work)
May 27th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Erp. Did my comment go through or did it disappear into the cyber-ether?
May 27th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
you’d also totally have the best p0rnstache of all the staff writers.
May 27th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Nice letter, but it’s the picture that really sells it.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
With the vest, you look like you just finished the 100 yard dash at the Special Olympics.
May 28th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
@alex: even if I was eligible to compete in the special olympics, I could still write rings around john yoo and rick santorum.
my CAT can write rings around them, and he doesn’t even have opposable thumbs!
May 29th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Not to mention your national audience. I read your blog everyday, and don’t live anywhere near Philly.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:00 am
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