11 February 2012

“We need ten thousand #AndrewBrietbarts at the local level”





Panelists Call for More Conservatives 
to Become Citizen Journalists 
Anyone can be a journalist now – and the conservative movement needs more people to step up and become citizen journalists, according to a group of CPAC panelists today. “Everyone in this room can be a reporter,” said Erik Telford Vice President of Strategic Initiatives & Outreach for the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. Media outlets are cutting back on reporters at the state and local level leaving those beats uncovered, Telford said. “If you don’t do it, who is going to?” “We need ten thousand Andrew Brietbarts at the local level,” he said.  Ed Morrissey of HotAir.com said, “We have to transform how we approach news.” Conservatives have to move from commenting on the news to breaking news, he said. “Go out and commit random acts of journalism.” With the rise of the Internet “the tools of journalism are at your finger tips” said National Review Online’s Jim Geraghty, author of the Campaign Spot blog. Geraghty also warned that conservative bloggers should not only focus on scandal and corruption but on positive stories as well. Those stories will appeal more to people who don’t pay a lot of attention to politics. Telford noted that conservative journalism flipped two congressional seats considered unwinnable for Republicans, ending the careers of Democrats Anthony Weiner in New York, and Bob Etheridge in North Carolina. Jumping in to citizen journalism can be daunting, but as Morrissey said “just start, you will learn about the issues, don’t’ be afraid to try it.”

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