MSNBC/Gawker
On April 4, 2007, Brian Williams gave a talk at NYU's journalism school, which was reported on April 5th by the Washington Square News (talking about his time in Iraq and how he succeeded by being "a hustler") and Patrick Philips' journalism class blog, We Want Media, which reported this now-infamous quote:
"You're going to be up against people who have an opinion, a modem, and a bathrobe," said Williams. "All of my life, developing credentials to cover my field of work, and now I'm up against a guy named Vinny in an efficiency apartment in the Bronx who hasn't left the efficiency apartment in two years."
Ouch. That one cuts deep. Almost three weeks later, it's still getting pickup in the blogosphere and the MSM, in a cycle of publication and pickup that proves that two versions of the same story can sprout all sorts of legs. Let's examine the chain of pickup, shall we?
April 4th:
Brian Williams Weighs In On New Media [Kristin OGorman, WeWantMedia]April 5th:
Williams, back from Iraq [Sara Dover, Washington Square News]April 5th:
Brian Williams — Hustler, screw-up, big tipper [ETP]April 9th:
The Seven Little Errors of Brian Williams' Wikipedia Entry [Gawker]April 10th:
WSJ Political Journal (subscription required; cited here)Maybe Somebody Should Start "Vinny Media"? [Hedgehog Blog]
April 11th:
Quote of the Day [Dean Barrett at Hugh Hewitt]How Self-Important is Brian Williams? [Andrew Sullivan]*
April 12th:
NBC's Brian Williams on Bloggers [ThinkProgress]Brian Williams on Bloggers:"I'm up against a guy named Vinny in an efficiency apartment." [Crooks & Liars]
Brian Williams Brings Left And Right Together [TalkLeft]April 13th:
Beware Those Reclusive Bathrobe Bloggers [National Journal]Why NBC News Still Hasn't Found the Right Producer... [MediaPost]
April 14th:
Brian Williams of NBC, Information Oligarch [Ali Eteraz, HuffPo]
Brian Williams' NBC Diss To Netroots & Bloggers [DailyKos]April 18th
Anti-Internet comments betray anchor's ignorance [Daily Southtown]April 21th
"I'M a hustler. If this ended tomorrow, I'll get three jobs tomorrow morning by 8 a.m. I'll do anything" - NBC News anchor Brian Williams to NYU journalism students, as reported by the Washington Square News. [Page Six]
This is one story that's actually united left and right — both sides outraged that Williams is so dismissive of bloggers — and with every new high-profile post seems to keep getting a new life cycle, feeding into the classic animus between the the blogging community and the MSM. But note this particular blogosphere irony: Many of the bloggers so outraged by Williams above (plus the WSJ, National Journal and Daily Southtown ) didn't even bother to cite the story's original source — the student journalists who actually attended the lecture, and rightfully got the juicy quotes. C'mon guys — even Vinny knows to do that.
* Yes. Andrew Sullivan is asking that about someone.
