Watch out Washington.
Eddie Scarry, formerly of TheBlaze and FishbowlDC, is going to work for Mediaite. The media outlet has no Washington bureau per se, so as the lone D.C. correspondent Eddie will scrounge out some place to set up his own personal HQ.
Andrew Kirell, editor-in-chief of Mediaite, remarked to The Mirror, “Eddie has proven his chops as a truly skilled and sharp reporter. We are thrilled to have him join the Mediaite team.”
I grilled Scarry on a couple of matters. [Full disclosure: Scarry wrote for me at FishbowlDC so let’s just say I know how his mind works. Kirell, if you need moral support, I’m here for you.]
For starters, what does Scarry love about journalism?
“What I love is that every day is something different,” said Scarry. “On any given day, someone will have inevitably said or done something so bizarre or heinous that it needs to be covered and shared with the public (or anyone who will read). I get to wake up and be surprised everyday.”
And what does he hate about the profession?
“Al Sharpton. The money could also be a little better,” he explained.
Asked why he hates Al, he replied, “Al? Are you and him on a first name basis?”
Please describe Washington media in five words: “Are you running in 2016?”
Asked for his favorite story that he’s gotten published, he said, “It has actually since been unpublished after it was posted online for almost a full 24 hours. You can now only find it replicated on a web forum where black American women talk to each other about issues that interest them.” That web forum is the lovely Lipstick Alley.
The now deleted story concerns MSNBC’s Touré Neblett and racial privilege. Headline: “MSNBC’s Toure should discuss his light-skinned privilege.” Scarry goes on about how Neblett talks about being black and the discrimination black people face. Then he says, “Neblett isn’t even that black… Literally, his skin is not that black. It’s actually pretty light. And his name is Touré Neblett. Without having seen him, you’d thing the name belonged to a drag queen (of any race). As it turns out, there is such a thing as ‘colorist’ or ‘light skin privilege.'”
Again asked, “Why do you hate Al [Sharpton]?” Scarry replied, “I don’t hate your good friend Al. I hate that he’s a part of journalism by way of his prime time MSNBC program. He clearly doesn’t write or pre-read any of the material before he’s live on national television, as demonstrated by those fantastic Free Beacon mashups.”
Finally, what could be done to fix or improve modern media right now? Scarry asks, “Is modern media sick? It could try an enema. Or get rid of Al Sharpton.”
Scarry starts his new gig at Mediaite on Wednesday.