Instapundit is a
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
maintained by
Glenn Reynolds
Glenn Harlan Reynolds (born August 27, 1960) is Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee College of Law, and is known for his American politics blog, '' Instapundit''.
Authorship Instapundit blog
Reynold ...
, a law professor at the
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...
.
History and characteristics
InstaPundit was launched in August 2001 as an experiment, and a part of Reynolds' class on Internet law.
After the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
, the site quickly became a highly popular
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
—with Reynolds celebrated as "chief among the warbloggers"—and was dubbed the "Grand Central Station of Bloggerville"
in 2002 and reported to be "the most visited
log
Log most often refers to:
* Trunk (botany), the stem and main wooden axis of a tree, called logs when cut
** Logging, cutting down trees for logs
** Firewood, logs used for fuel
** Lumber or timber, converted from wood logs
* Logarithm, in mathe ...
in the world" in early 2004. A 2007 memo from the
National Republican Senatorial Committee
The National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) is the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate, working to elect Republicans to that body. The NRSC was founded in 1916 as the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. It was reorgan ...
described Reynolds as one of the five "best-read national conservative bloggers."
Common topics are politics,
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
(such as
nanotechnology
Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...
),
space exploration
Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. While the exploration of space is carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration though is conducted both by robotic spacec ...
, human longevity,
digital photography
Digital photography uses cameras containing arrays of electronic photodetectors interfaced to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to produce images focused by a lens, as opposed to an exposure on photographic film. The digitized image is sto ...
, individual liberty and
gun politics
Gun laws and policies, collectively referred to as firearms regulation or gun control, regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, and use of small arms by civilians. Laws of some countries may afford civilians a right to ...
,
domestic policy
Domestic policy is a type of public policy overseeing administrative decisions that are directly related to all issues and activity within a state's borders. It differs from foreign policy, which refers to the ways a government advances its intere ...
, the media, and the
blogosphere
The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community (or as a collection of connected communities) or as a social networking service in which everyday authors can pu ...
as a social phenomenon. Instapundit frequently discussed the
war on terror
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...
from a supportive-but-critical viewpoint. Reynolds has also lent his support to the
Porkbusters
Porkbusters was an effort led by mostly Conservativism, conservative and Libertarianism, libertarian bloggers to cut pork barrel spending by the Congress of the United States, U.S. Congress used to help pay for projects.
The effort was launched ...
campaign, which purports to expose misallocation of federal funds.
In June 2009, Reynolds changed his blog header to the color green from its original red, in support of the anti-
Ahmadinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدینژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956), /pro-
Mousavi protests made after the
Iranian Presidential election The President of Iran is the highest official elected by direct, popular vote, although the President carries out the decrees, and answers to the Supreme Leader of Iran, who functions as the country's head of state.(see Article 110 of the constituti ...
. This was originally supposed to be a temporary show up support, but it lasted about three months. On September 7, 2009, Reynolds replaced the green with his customary red, remarking, "I’m back to the original design. 'Going Green' was supposed to be a show of support, not a permanent change, and the summer’s over. My support for the Iranian freedom movement is no less, but symbolism takes you only so far."
Influence on other bloggers
Sometimes referred to as "the Blogfather,
and credited with an "ethic of driving traffic to new blogs from all over the political spectrum,"
Reynolds managed to attract a large following of imitators who adopted his blogging style. His ability to "foster a hospitable environment for new bloggers" has been attributed to his involvement in home-recording
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
and
new-wave music
New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop music, pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk it ...
, and his adaptation of the participatory ethos of these musical styles to online publishing.
In April 2002, Reynolds published a list of well over two hundred blogs that claimed to be directly inspired by his own.
Instapundit's popularity led to the common adoption of the suffix "-pundit" in blog titles, for example
Kevin Drum
Kevin Drum (born October 19, 1958) is an American journalist. Drum initially rose to prominence through the popularity of his independent blog ''Calpundit'' (2003–2004). He later was invited to launch a blog, ''Political Animal'' (2004–2008) ...
(who originally blogged as "CalPundit") and
Allahpundit Nick Catoggio, who previously used the pseudonym Allahpundit, is a blogger and former senior editor for the American political news and commentary website Hot Air from its founding in 2006 through his resignation on September 2, 2022. After moving ...
. There are also direct take-offs on the entire name, such as Instapunk, and IsntAPundit. There are many other "-pundit" blogs, of all political stripes inspired to some degree by Instapundit.
Quotations
Another way that Instapundit has been a major influence on other bloggers is a set of ironic titles that it repeats on many different posts. Many of these titles have become part of the conservative lexicon. Some examples:
*"You want more Trump? This is how you get more Trump!"
*"Why are Democrat-run cities such cesspits of corruption?" (where "cities" and "corruption" is replaced by whatever the story is about).
*"They told me that if I voted for (Republican presidential candidate) I would see (terrible result) - and they were right!" (pointing to a story about where a Democratic president or politician did just that).
*"Faster, please" (about some life-extending discovery).
*"Higher education bubble update" (some indication that the current college system is collapsing).
*"Think of them (i.e., the media) as Democratic operatives with bylines and you won’t go far wrong."
*"I'm so old, I remember when..." (something that something or somebody claimed recently, but now is demonstrating just the opposite).
See also
*
Caio Blinder
Caio Kraiser Blinder (São Paulo, August 14, 1957) is a Brazilian journalist, writer and TV presenter.
Blinder lives in New Jersey, from where he hosts GNT's Manhattan Connection since its inception in 1993. He is also a correspondent for Brazil ...
References
External links
*
Instapundit in 'Blogging America: Political Discourse in a Digital Nation By Barbara O'BrienInstapundit in Infotopia: How Many Minds Produce Knowledge By Cass R. Sunstein*
ttps://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E0D61131F935A25752C0A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink Instapundit profile from New York Times, 2003br>
"Bring Your Own Camera: How Sarah Can Fight Back" Glenn Reynolds, ''
The New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'', September 13, 2008
* {{cite web , last=Roberts , first=Russ , title=Glenn Reynolds on Politics, the Constitution, and Technology, url=http://www.econtalk.org/archives/_featuring/glenn_reynolds/ , work=
EconTalk , publisher=
Library of Economics and Liberty
Liberty Fund, Inc. is an American private educational foundation headquartered in Carmel, founded by Pierre F. Goodrich. Through publishing, conferences, and educational resources, the operating mandate of the Liberty Fund was set forth in an un ...
, author-link=Russ Roberts , date=February 18, 2013
American political blogs
Warblogs
Internet properties established in 2001