The new new journalism?

As I’m transitioning from vacation mode to catching-up mode, Two brief  notes.  First, you might notice a blogroll and twitter feed on the right-hand side of the page.  Classy, huh?  Second, blogger "fame" can bring some odd moments.  For example, Henry Farrell posted that John Holbo "is profiled along with other academic bloggers (DeLong, Drezner, Shalizi) in Berkeley’s alumni ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

As I'm transitioning from vacation mode to catching-up mode, Two brief  notes.  First, you might notice a blogroll and twitter feed on the right-hand side of the page.  Classy, huh? 

As I’m transitioning from vacation mode to catching-up mode, Two brief  notes.  First, you might notice a blogroll and twitter feed on the right-hand side of the page.  Classy, huh? 

Second, blogger "fame" can bring some odd moments.  For example, Henry Farrell posted that John Holbo "is profiled along with other academic bloggers (DeLong, Drezner, Shalizi) in Berkeley’s alumni magazine."

The piece is primarily about DeLong and Holbo — here’s the section on yours truly:

Other well-known academic bloggers admit they began in an effort to be heard beyond the tight circle of academe to which they had access as untenured professors. Tufts University Professor Dan Drezner, a right-leaning political blogger who often skirmishes online with DeLong, began blogging after 9/11 because he had expertise in the Middle East, and major newspapers refused to publish his op-eds. Within a year, he was a regular contributor to The New York Times. At the time he and DeLong jumped in, says Drezner, blogging was “the quickest way to become a public intellectual."

Now, I don’t know if there are so many inaccuracies in this essay because I got my Ph.D. from a rival institution, but let’s clear up a few things:

1)  I have never claimed area expertise about the Middle East.  I’ll claim some expertise about the study of international relations, some of which applies to the Middle East.  That’s a different kettle of fish than what’s stated about me in the above paragraph. 

2)  I’ve never been a regular contributor to the New York Times, unless four book reviews and one op-ed in seven years counts as "regular." 

I suspect that Cathleen McCarthy, who wrote the essay, mistakenly conflated myself and FP’s Marc Lynch, from this Williams Alumni Review story she wrote three years ago.   But it’s good to have a blog to set the facts straight. 

Enough navel-gazing.  Substantive blogging will resume tomorrow. 

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

Tag: Media

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