OffTheBus On Bittergate: A Roundup of Initial Responses

In the wake of the OffTheBus Mayhill Fowler story that ignited a media storm this weekend over Barack Obama's comments on working-class voters, many of the OffTheBus community contributors-- unpaid volunteers all-- expressed their thoughts on the story and its interpretation across the media landscape. The story prompted some to write directly on the new experience of practicing citizen journalism -- of working, as OffTheBus cofounder Jay Rosen put it, in "the uncharted" territories of contemporary networked news.

Below a list of the work published by the OTB community so far.

Got a post you'd like to add to the discussion? Send it to [e-mail], along with a headshot and a bio.

-------------
Jay Rosen: "The Uncharted"
As an Obama supporter, I was proud to publish Mayhill Fowler's truthful report, though I recognize that it touched off an ordeal for the campaign, a media storm that isn't over and could hurt Obama's chances.

Marc Cooper: "Inside the... Storm"
Mayhill employs a highly-personalized, reflective narrative style to her unconventional reporting -- an approach that would be, indeed, non-grata, within the official campaign reporting bubble. It violates almost all of the conventions of traditional reporting (though not its ethical code) and that's what makes it all so damn interesting.

Mariangela Anzelone
"I'm a Bitter Middle Class American and Not Afraid to Say It"
As an actual middle-class person from New Jersey, I am bitter. I am bitter about the government's complete lack of regard for my wellbeing. I think Senator Obama was dead on.

Chip Collis
"It's the Con Job, Stupid!"
Two of the three presidential candidates are running a major con job on you right now: It's in their attacks on Obama. He was right about economically disadvantaged and politically sidetracked Pennsylvanians.

Karen Dalton-Beninato
"Memo to the Elite: This Would Be a Good Week to Buy a Television"
My Off the Bus colleague Mayhill Fowler opened a big old can of class debate on Friday with her 6,000 comment-drawing post on Barack Obama.

and

"A Small Town Response to Obama's Talking 'Off The Bus'"
The media is having a field day over Obama's words. But he lives in Chicago and was talking about sentiments he has heard across the Midwest. I've heard them too. All you have to do is ask.

Christine Escobar
"On citizen journalists and the validity of accounts"
The value in the citizen journalist's account comes partly as a result of its being free. They are beholden to no one. They cover and opine and observe subjects but from their own perspective.

Leonce gaiter
"Obama Jerks the White Man's Burden"
Somewhere amid all these fireworks, we have the classic "uppity negro" archetype-- a black man who doesn't know his place, who dares to pontificate on the pathologies of white men.

Linda Hansen
"Bittergate: It's Not About Mayhill Fowler"
Are we bitter in Povertyland, USA? Hell, yes. That's what the story was about. We've been hung out to dry so long, we feel like ragged, abandoned laundry. All those election year promises? Please.

Scott Shrake
"I Wish There Were More Mayhill Fowlers"
There's no conspiracy behind Bittergate. The truth is even more unlikely: Fowler is that rare Barack Obama admirer who can admit he's not perfect. And, hey, that's the right kind of support.

***

Join the team! OffTheBus members research, write, observe, and collaborate on journalism projects ranging from articles to our latest Superdelegate Investigation.

Comments

[maryrat]

Christine Escobar writes:
" They cover and opine and observe subjects but from their own perspective."

If they "opine" from their own perspective they are not journalists. A true journalist reports the news, doesn't give her interpretation of what happened. That is what is wrong in the state of journalism today. Nobody's reporting, everyone's opining.
Fowler didn't even interview any one else on the scene. so we are supposed to believe her opinion on what Obama's words meant?

[DRaymond]

Could we leave off the '-gate' business. Watergate was a significant criminal conspiracy. Giving every embarrasing comment its own '-gate' moniker is tedious and trivilaizas real criminality.

We are still coming to grips what this thing called a 'citizen journalist' is about, but what it isn't is a professional journalist. Simply having access to a means of publishing and talking about news does not make you a real journalist any more than it does for Bill O'Riley and Rush Limbaugh.

Most of these citizen journalists are actually commentars, A commentator is not evil, but they are also not doing rigorous journalism. It silly to expect that they are. Is a four year journalism degree and graduate Journalism degree so worthless that anybody with an internet connection and a cell phone can be expected to do the same thing? Can downloading a copy of Google Schetchup make you a Citizen Architect capable of designing a building?

[barackobam]

Again, the article states Arianna H approved "Bittergate" while on vaction in Tahiti. She too claims to support Barack. When will we hear from this socalled supporter?

[barackobam]

The point sandy made is so interesting and a new angler I had not even thought about. The Palestinians are an example of people who are clinging to guns and Hashem(G-d).
The debate last night was just brutal. 40 minutes on my comments and noty policy. It is
apparent the media is not going to give us terime to discuss the issues in the forums becuase they do not want us to get free campaign time. I think a decision is made to focusd on trivial issues
because they do not want to give us candidates free air time. So they go on and on over Rev Wright and "Bittergate" and Hillary McClinton over Bosnia over and over and over.....

[Sandy972]

Sorry guys, most of you are backpeddling and still we have not heard from Arianna on this fiasco.
No matter how you try to sugarcoat it, Mayhill did make it a harder climb for Obama, when he actually did not do anything wrong nor did I even think the words were wrong.

While living in the Middle East, we always said that most of the problems facing the Palestenians went back to the fact that after losing their land and being forced to try and reclaim it for 50 years they eventually reverted to religion and guns to cling to when they had nothing else. So this is not a new comparison to the way people when they feel left out, jobless, disenfranchised, etc. sometimes turn to the one thing they know, their religion and then sometimes guns, also to blame other people, whether they are occupiers or immigrants, for their problems.

By not giving a heads up to Obama so he could at least have a defense planned for this stupid article was totally ridiculous.

[gardenbookie]

Dear Reader: Please read all the comments posted above and see for yourself if there's "bitterness" in America. Senator Obama said it straight out and factual. Bitterness is at an epidemic level....and you don't even have to be in the poverty class to have it.

[vippy]

Those who claim they are not bitter just don't care for Obama let us face it. I have been bitter
since Bush took office and I saw where he is heading. I am not only bitter, sarcastic but also
MAD AS HELL. And so is everyone I know. Obama hit the nail on the head. At least he showed
us he is listening to us. Hillary once told Bill "he did not owe us anything" and I believe she
still means it.

[Suprshrink]

The use of the word, "bitter, " is not really the issue. It is tying bitterness to religiosity, guns, immigration, and racism. No matter how much you say that he didn't say those exact words, the message was to the most liberal elite that small town Pennsylvanians will "cling" to these issues because they are bitter. But these issues have been at the heart of middle America long before NAFTA, foreclosures, and lack of unions. If Clinton had said these exact words, she would have been attacked relentlessly by Obama supporters and the media. The proof of this is that every media outlet has searched high and low to find similar remarks made by any Clinton. I am so sick of this bias, and I will never vote for Obama because of it.

[helloworld2008]

I hate all of you smug OfftheBus clowns. Go away.

[helloworld2008]

Give it a rest. You OfftheBus clowns are sleazy and self obsessed.

If Fowler and her dirty tricks garbage is representative of OfftheBus, no thanks.

She should be fired, and whoever was stupid enough to hire her should be fired as well.

Shame on you, backstabbing sneaks!

[Ironfox]

Get over yourselves, just the facts folks, just the facts.

[barackobam]

I love the support! Mayflower is working for McClinton!!

[RedWilma]

I think that what Obama actually SAID was fine - it was Fowler's spin that was so negative.

And Huffpo's captions are awful. The guy with the gun for the "bitter" article and before that the caption to Fowler's story was something about him being flirtatious (which most women see as a big negative).

[RedWilma]

The New York Times stated that Fowler is 61 years old, she just started up as a "citizen journalist", she gave money to Hillary because she likes the idea of a woman president, she gave to Obama, and she donated to Fred Thompson's campaign because she's originally from Tennessee.

[Persson4]

Thanks for trotting out to support Mayhill Fowler once again we can expect "citizen reporters" to stick together. I still don't see anyone really looking at the "journalist" question here. Where is the follow up? Where is the question that will elicit more information from Obama? This same comment made by Obama on Sunday was on Charlie Rose in 2004. This statement is nothing new and in reality old news that was never picked up, because "citizen journalists" are not journalists. Again stop using this term it means nothing and will more than likely end up meaning not trustworthy. Let's get serious about what the blogosphere really means before we turn it into a virtual barber shop.

[Carolinacolumnist]

Linda Hansen here.

You couldn't be more wrong. My post was not--is not--intended to be devoted to a defense of Mayhill Fowler. And, believe it or not, I really am a journalist. I write liberal commentary for the op-ed page of a Deep South newspaper. I've taken abuse for being an "anti-American, anti-Christian, unpatriotic leftist who hates our troops" for years.

I am embedded in the Poverty Belt. So, as I stated in my post, I got it when Barack Obama spoke to the bitterness of the folks who've waited too long for a piece of "prosperity." I know these folks. I speak for them. I'm one of them. And I'm bitter.

I didn't like the tenor of Mayhill's post. If she doesn't get it, it's because she doesn't have to live with it. Or experience it in her daily life. For me, it's real. I'm living it.

Huffington is not the villain here. We were told, at the inception of OTB, that we are a new foray into the Hunter Thompson school of Gonzo journalism. We can be biased, interject opinion into our reporting, as long as we're honest about it.

Was Mayhill honest about her support of Obama? Maybe not. You can decide that. But don't paint all of us with the same broad brush. That would make you part of the broad brush problem.

[snowhusseincat]

Fowler's obvious problem is that she's an ELITIST and no I'm not being snarky. She lied and distorted based own her own perceived superior perceptions!

[Astroboy]

Mayhill Fowler. 2008's Linda Tripp.

[kenjisan]

true, but Hillary in her own voice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exsmFDYyK4U