Why There's No Female Nate Silver

Why There's No Female Nate Silver
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 12: Nate Silver, American statistician, political forecaster and author of 'The Signal And The Noise', appears at a photocall prior to an event at the 30th Edinburgh International Book Festival, on August 13, 2013 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Edinburgh International Book Festival is the worlds largest annual literary event, and takes place in the city which became a UNESCO City of Literature in 2004. (Photo by Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert/Getty Images)
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 12: Nate Silver, American statistician, political forecaster and author of 'The Signal And The Noise', appears at a photocall prior to an event at the 30th Edinburgh International Book Festival, on August 13, 2013 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Edinburgh International Book Festival is the worlds largest annual literary event, and takes place in the city which became a UNESCO City of Literature in 2004. (Photo by Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert/Getty Images)

"Am I missing something here?" asks Jack Shafer in his Reuters paean to the "Marquee Brothers," male journalists -- like Ezra Klein, Nate Silver and Andrew Sullivan -- famous enough that news organizations clamor to grant them their own fiefdoms.

In a word, yes. Or in two words, Kara Swisher, the co-founder of All Things D whom Shafer later added to his piece as a footnote. There are other high-profile female journalists he could have added to his list, but he's not wrong -- the pantheon of journalists whose name recognition and clout have made them cottage industries is overwhelmingly male.

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