10 Comments Add your own

• 1. Anonymous  |  June 12th, 2007 at 10:37 am

  My vote is for Gail Shister, whose column at the Inquirer was killed.

• 2. Vinny  |  June 12th, 2007 at 11:07 am

  I’m just surprised NBC didn’t put him on the payroll after all these years of shilling for them.

• 3. Anonymous  |  June 12th, 2007 at 12:06 pm

  At times it seemed to me like he was favoring one cabler or another, but then there would be a new group of posts that would make me think differently. In the end, I think he was pretty fair, though I wish he would have posted more diverse opinions, though. For example, when a Fox rep says something characteristically biting, it seems fair to post a response, even if it’s just from an emailer. It shouldn’t require another official rep to go eye-for-an-eye to get the other side of the argument. Also, Stelter seemed to take an approach of “a print critic has to mention it first” before he would note any controversy about news practices, ethics, bias, etc. That seemed pretty timid for a blog.

• 4. discreet_chaos  |  June 12th, 2007 at 1:47 pm

  I’d say that Brian may have favored those who gave him access and those with whom he’d interact via email, but that pretty much covers all of cable news and it makes sense because he was “cablenewser” before he was bought. Him and cable have a long history and as they say, you “dance with the one who brung ya”.

  What I find interesting and maybe a bit disappointing is that they’re looking for someone experienced “covering media for a trade publication or newspaper” and they want you to detail your connections in the industry; All to helm something Brian started in his dorm room, miles from the world of network news, all the while hiding his face and his identity because he didn’t think a college kid’s blog would be taken seriously.

  It’s sort of like when Nick Denton took back valleywag: The thrill was gone and it became a corporate thing.

• 5. Safran  |  June 12th, 2007 at 2:18 pm

  He’s a business reporter at the New York Times, straight out of college. Put aside any snark about the NYT for a sec, and just appreciate how damned impressive an achievement that is. All because of a blog.

  Brian has serious work ahead. His command of rumor vs. fact will have to meet a higher standard now. The threshold for publication will be far beyond an anonymous email. I’m going to be very interested in hearing how Brian’s blogger mindset fits in at the NYT.

  As for TVNewser without Brian? See shark, jump. It’s like Wonkette without Ana Marie - you can still run it, but it’s not as fun. Part of the wonder of the site was that a college kid pulled it off.

• 6. discreet_chaos  |  June 12th, 2007 at 3:48 pm

  Steve - As for the gig, straight out of college, Lorelai would be proud.

  And, I agree that it’ll be interesting to see how the blog transitions to a new writer, but Wonkette trades entirely on the brand and though every Wonkette brings a different sensibility (these recent guys seem to rely more heavily on blogs as sources), it’s the brand that gets them tips.

  Tips for tvnewser can really only come from inside sources. Sure, the trades can get you started in the morning, but for the scoops, someone has to turn you onto them.

  Brian built his following from people sending anonymous tips to an anonymous blogger and it might be replicated by someone similar, but a known person farming their own rolodex is something else, entirely. Brian could shoot at the moon because he started by thinking nothing would come of it, while an established writer with their own contacts would most likely see it as another step in a career. Thus, they’d have a reason to play it more safe.

  Sure, I’ll continue to read the site, a couple of times a day and I’m interested to see if another blog can be successfully transferred, but as the description is written, it sounds like they’d prefer to go more toward Howard Kurtz than a “Heard on the Street” kind of thing.

  Just my 2-cents and again, congrats to Brian. He’ll be missed.

• 7. Charles  |  June 12th, 2007 at 4:37 pm

  Higher standards when it comes to discerning the truth vs. rumors? At the NYTimes? Seriously?

  This is a great gig for Brian. While the site lost a lot when Mediabistro acquired it and changed it from “Cablenewser” to “TVNewser,” it’s still a great site to check out.

  I wonder if the guy at “Inside Cable News” will send in a resume?

• 8. mike jones  |  June 12th, 2007 at 5:51 pm

  There are so many disgruntled employees at cable news nets that the fountain of information that Brian ‘cultivated’ will continue for his successor, no doubt. I’ve never been to a more miserable place than a cable newsroom…

• 9. Don Day  |  June 12th, 2007 at 6:46 pm

  I think I can safely say here that I helped the “guy who writes Inside Cable News” launch his blog (I actually designed that ugly blue header). “Spud” is a really great blogger who is incredibly fair and balanced. I hope he considers it

• 10. Spud  |  June 12th, 2007 at 9:08 pm

  Yeah you created that header and then took a powder, leaving me holding the bag, damn you!

  I’m actually thinking about doing a blog layout redesign.

  I wouldn’t touch TVNewser with a 10 foot pole. Corporate sponsorship watching me like a hawk? No comments? Have to cover *cough* *cough* broadcast news where the news is mostly stale to any seasoned internet/cable news junkie? No thanks.

  I did get a chuckle out of the job description though…”…take TVNewser to the next level”? HA! What an insult to Stelter. By definition that implies he couldn’t do it. Never mind that he built it into the must read site on his own. According to the job description there was a “next level” to the site which apparently he couldn’t attain. Sheesh…

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