Fat-headed journalist takes on webloggers

Michael Fumento, a journalist who covers science and health issues for Scripps-Howard and several magazines, has a low opinion of weblogging:

... any idiot with a keyboard can boast that his material is on the Internet. He is beholden to no one for quality or accuracy, and need not have a single reader. For all the talk about "the distribution of the old media," it's not just that my column goes out to over 400 newspapers but that about 20 of them instantly post my column to their own websites, each of which gets more hits in five minutes than the average blogger probably gets in a week.

Leaving aside the fact that he's writing all of this on a weblog, Fumento is worth reading to see what happens when a pro journalist doesn't have the benefit of pro editors.

Check out his response to R. Hailey, a weblogger who advocates the Atkins diet:

As to Atkins, there my response was made quite simple by his picture. "If it works so well why is it you have such a fat face? Time and again I've found that those who defend Atkins with a religious fervor as you do, and ignore all studies, as you do, are nonetheless little porkers. It doesn't bother you that you have a big fat bow on Atkins so long as you get to stuff your face with all the lard and cheese puffs you want. Truly pathetic.

Fumento, who loves hate mail, botched the image tag of Hailey's photo, making him appear more portly.

2003/08/25 · 3 COMMENTS · Link

Comments

My interpretation of this is that Mr. Michael Fumento has a huge ego and is jealous, perhaps a bit insecure that now "others" can be easily heard/published. So his column goes out to 400 newspapers, what does he want, a cookie?? A trophy?? If he's so great, I wonder why he feels threatened by mere mortals with blogs. What an ass. I blog for me and if others find my blog and like it, that's great. If they don't, oh well.

Jennifer Martinez sends

#1 · Jennifer Martinez · 2003/08/25

Fumento's an amazing piece of work. In his reply to a weblogger, he manages to rattle off his "400 newspapers" bit again in an attempt to criticize webloggers for being too self-important. I guess he would know.

#2 · Rogers Cadenhead · 2003/08/25

I was tempted to reply to Fumento's posting but it's clear that he uses his website at least as a troll (apparently his scribblings aren't good enough yet fo those 400!!! newspapers to include the Mercury News, Washington Post, or NY Times). But seriously, why does he need to pick on people who are actively dieting, Atkins or otherwise, in our society which is currently in the midst of an obesity epidemic? How is that helping anyone? To me he reads like another Trudy Rubin, a person with a loud voice and an empty head.

#3 · BillSaysThis · 2003/08/25