Does Gawker editor-in-chief Max Read need a little training in open-mindedness? Perhaps a hippy retreat in California might do him some good, some shooting in the woods with the Heritage Foundation, some therapy to make him less frightened when it comes to people who may or may not think differently than him. Or, kindergarten.
I’ve never been a politically-invested writer. But according to Read, I’m among the “right-wing pricks” at The Daily Caller for writing a story pointing out how Gawker made a story fit their thesis. Who cares if it was true or not? It wasn’t actually, but they insist it was, that they had 10 “sources” who wrote in to confirm that Albuquerque photog Leo York was an opportunist in Ferguson. But the fact is, he just wasn’t the opportunist written about in Gawker writer J.K. Trotter‘s story.
But consider this: Just in the brief course of writing about Trotter, I encountered several people who think he’s slime. Is he slime? Probably not –he’s a gossip writer who writes for a gossipy site — and criticism and hatred have always come with the territory of being a reporter. As Read put it in a bunch of emails obtained by The Daily Caller “pricks”, he wrote, “To be clear, …Gawker is not, and never has been, ‘classy’ or ‘professional.'” And this: “Running rumors based on tips and anonymous sources is a long-established Gawker practice that fits well within our mission and motto. We won’t be apologizing. Thank you for reading!”
No dispute there.
The woman who wrote Read demanding an apology for their crappy reporting and included my story in her email said she was a fan of Gawker. Which apparently was a real investigative tip-off to Read.
“I will be honest, [SO and SO], I am a little suspicious of someone who claims to be a Gawker fan but is sending me articles from the right-wing pricks at the Daily Caller,” wrote Read.
Bad Gawker reader! Stay in your cage!