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July 28, 2004

Atrios Unmasked

The identity of longtime overheated lefty gossipblogger Atrios has been revealed. His name is Duncan Black, and...:

It turns out that Mr. Black works at Media Matters, the new David Brock media watchdog group, which is kind of interesting - he is doing paid media commentary on one site, and a lot of anonymous media criticism on the other...
Well, then.

Atrios' identity is a huge story among the bloggers covering the Dem convention, prompting much auto-backpatting:

I've known Atrios was Duncan Black for some time now. I've even met him.

I'm a total DC insider now.

It prompted one particularly astute comment on Oliver Willis' site:
The fact that Atrios's identity is as big a story in blogtopia as any DNC-related item, and that bloggers are reporting on themselves as much as convention goings-on tells me the blogosphere hasn't yet found its way out of its echo chamber. I don't expect any better from the RNC convention bloggers.
True as re the blogosphere, but I think you can expect much better from the RNC bloggers; compare the astuteness of the likes of Ed or Rocket Man with the echo-chamber sycophancy of Atrios Duncan McCleod Black or Markos "Screw 'em" "Kos" Zuniga.

No contest, I say.

Posted by Mitch at July 28, 2004 10:13 AM | TrackBack
Comments

I don't give a hoot who he works with or for or what his name is! Read him and agree or disagree. Judge the art and not the artist...and who outed him? and why? seemsthis blog crap is getting very like feme gossipy thingie...oh, anti-women remark? nah. genes and hormones etc make them this way and it helps the race continue.

Posted by: freddie poo at July 28, 2004 03:06 PM

Near as I can tell, Duncan Black (ot: isn't that the name of a Harry Potter character?) outed himself. Makes sense. He's built himself into a big enough figure that he can probably cash in on his fame as Atrios more than he can earn as an Economics prof.

As for Atrios v. Instapundit: it's a draw! Glenn gives terse libertarian/pro-war spin on current events, Duncan gives terse liberal/anti-war spin on current events. Atrios is retlentlessly pro-Kerry, Insty is relentlessly pro-Bush. Both will too often do the link-and-dash post. Both are a good repository of spin on the left and right.

And when the Righties are at the RNC, there will be sycophantic, echo-chamber love of Bush, while the lefty bloggers will be offering insightful commentary. That's the way of the world.

Posted by: Jeff Fecke at July 28, 2004 03:50 PM

Eh, I take issue with calling Instapundit "relentlessly pro-Bush." He's offered up some pretty tough critiques on the president on more than one occasion. Instapundit, as a whole, is pretty dang liberal, but he's definitely pro-war and he offers up consistent and convincing reasons why. SOmething I've noticed emerging in the media today is that, if you're pro-war, you're automatically lumped in the "conservative" camp, which is unfortunate, to say nothing of lazy.

Posted by: Ryan at July 28, 2004 04:30 PM

True dat. Which is why I didn't do it. Glenn is not liberal; he's libertarian. Which is how I identified him.

But he is relentlessly pro-Bush, and more relentlessly anti-Kerry.

Posted by: Jeff Fecke at July 28, 2004 06:01 PM

No he isn't.

He's not libertarian, he's not relentlessly pro-Bush, and he's not relentlessly anti-Kerry.

Unlike Atrios (or Kos or Willis), he actually thinks about things.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at July 28, 2004 06:26 PM

First: The Professor is left on some things, a self-described libertarian on others, and definitely pro-Prez on the war (and very little else, from what I've seen).

As to the GOP convention, two points:
1) Most of the Republican bloggers I've heard
about are relentlessly smart, analytically
sharp, intellectually-uncompromising writers
(Ed, Rocket Man, 'Chel Catalano). I can
think of VERY few lefty bloggers in their
league, intellectually or content-wise.
If you accept this (and I do), the content
will naturally be different (I mean,
Pandagon? Puhleeze).

2) We can't really compare, though - because
the DNC revoked most of the conservative
bloggers' credentials. Who on the right
is still there? Besides Hewitt (who got in
as a radio guy anyway)? I think they
even booted Adesnik. I'm certainly HOPING
the GOP allows plenty of leftybloggers in -
as many of the NARN have been saying, it'd
be great to find some lefty blogs that ARE
worth reading. The big ones - Kos, Atrios,
Willis - certainly arent't.

Posted by: mitch at July 28, 2004 06:47 PM
hi