JournoList (sometimes referred to as the J-List)
[ was a private ]Google Groups
Google Groups is a service from Google that provides discussion groups for people sharing common interests. The Groups service also provides a gateway to Usenet newsgroups via a shared user interface.
Google Groups became operational in February ...
forum for discussing politics and the news media with 400 left-leaning journalists, academics and others. Ezra Klein
Ezra Klein (born May 10, 1984) is an American journalist, political analyst, ''New York Times'' columnist, and the host of ''The Ezra Klein Show'' podcast. He is a co-founder of '' Vox'' and formerly served as the website's editor-at-large. He ha ...
created the online forum in February 2007 while blogging at ''The American Prospect
''The American Prospect'' is a daily online and bimonthly print American political and public policy magazine dedicated to American modern liberalism and progressivism. Based in Washington, D.C., ''The American Prospect'' says it "is devoted to ...
'' and shut it down on June 25, 2010 amid wider public exposure. Journalists later pointed out various off-color statements made by members of the list denigrating conservatives. Others defended such statements as being taken out of context or simply a matter of private candor.
Background
Ezra Klein
Ezra Klein (born May 10, 1984) is an American journalist, political analyst, ''New York Times'' columnist, and the host of ''The Ezra Klein Show'' podcast. He is a co-founder of '' Vox'' and formerly served as the website's editor-at-large. He ha ...
controlled the forum's membership and limited it to "several hundred left-leaning bloggers, political reporters, magazine writers, policy wonks and academics."[ Klein justified excluding conservatives from participation as "not about fostering ideology but preventing a collapse into ]flame war
Flaming or roasting is the act of posting insults, often including profanity or other offensive language, on the internet. This term should not be confused with the term trolling, which is the act of someone going online, or in person, and causing ...
. The emphasis is on empiricism
In philosophy, empiricism is an epistemological theory that holds that knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from sensory experience. It is one of several views within epistemology, along with rationalism and skepticism. Empir ...
, not ideology." Posts within JournoList were intended only to be made and read by its members. Klein defended the forum structure saying that it ensured "that folks feel safe giving off-the-cuff analysis and instant reactions."[ JournoList member and '']Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' columnist Joe Klein
Joe Klein (born September 7, 1946) is an American political commentator and author. He is best known for his work as a columnist for ''Time'' magazine and his novel ''Primary Colors'', an anonymously written roman à clef portraying Bill Clinton' ...
said the off-the-record nature of the forum was necessary because "candor is essential and can only be guaranteed by keeping these conversations private."[ The existence of JournoList was first publicly revealed in a July 27, 2007 blog post by ]Mickey Kaus
Robert Michael "Mickey" Kaus (; born July 6, 1951) is an American journalist, pundit, and author, known for writing Kausfiles, a "mostly political" blog which was featured on ''Slate'' until 2010. Kaus is the author of ''The End of Equality'' and ...
.
However, the forum did not attract serious attention until March 17, 2009 when an article published on ''Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' detailed the nature of the forum and the extent of its membership.[ The ''Politico'' article set off debate within 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 p ...
over the ethics of participating in JournoList and raised questions about its overall purpose. The first public excerpt of a discussion within JournoList was posted by Mickey Kaus on his blog on March 26, 2009.
Statements on the JournoList
Responding to the Jeremiah Wright controversy
The Jeremiah Wright controversy gained national attention in the United States, in March 2008 after ABC News investigated the sermons of Jeremiah Wright who was, at that time, the pastor of then U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama. Excerpted ...
surrounding Obama's campaign, one JournoList contributor, Spencer Ackerman
Spencer Ackerman is an American journalist and writer. Focusing primarily on national security, he began his career at ''The New Republic'' in 2002 before writing for ''Wired'', ''The Guardian'' and ''The Daily Beast''.
He won a 2012 National ...
of ''The Washington Independent
The American Independent Institute is a nonprofit organization which funds liberal investigative journalism efforts. According to the organization, its aim is to support journalism which exposes "the nexus of conservative power in Washington." The ...
'', stated "If the right forces us all to either defend Wright
Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright is ...
or tear him down, no matter what we choose, we lose the game they've put upon us. Instead, take one of them – Fred Barnes, Karl Rove
Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) is an American Republican political consultant, policy advisor, and lobbyist. He was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration until his resignation on August 3 ...
, who cares – and call them racists". Chris Hayes
Christopher Loffredo Hayes (; born February 28, 1979) is an American political commentator, television news anchor, activist, and author. Hayes hosts ''All In with Chris Hayes'', a weekday news and opinion television show on MSNBC. Hayes also ...
of ''The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'' was requesting ideas from other journalists for best ways to criticize Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...
in an email thread.
Ackerman was also quoted as saying, "find a right winger's icand smash it through a plate-glass window. Take a snapshot of the bleeding mess and send it out in a Christmas card to let the right know that it needs to live in a state of constant fear. Obviously, I mean this rhetorically." According to media scholar Jim A. Kuypers
Jim A. Kuypers is an American scholar and consultant specializing in communication studies. A professor at Virginia Tech, he has written on the news media, rhetorical criticism and presidential rhetoric, and is particularly known for his work in ...
, the hatred of conservatives was strong on the list. Sarah Spitz, an NPR affiliate producer, had written that she would "laugh loudly like a maniac and watch his eyes bug out", if she would witness Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...
having a heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
.
Responses
Tucker Carlson
Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American television host, conservative political commentator and writer who has hosted the nightly political talk show ''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on Fox News since 2016.
Carlson began h ...
, who edited several of Strong's articles about JournoList, wrote in a July 22 article: "Again and again, we discovered members of Journolist working to coordinate talking points on behalf of Democratic politicians, principally Barack Obama. That is not journalism, and those who engage in it are not journalists. They should stop pretending to be. The news organizations they work for should stop pretending, too. ... I've been in journalism my entire adult life, and have often defended it against fellow conservatives who claim the news business is fundamentally corrupt. It's harder to make that defense now. It will be easier when honest (and, yes, liberal) journalists denounce what happened on Journolist as wrong." Fred Barnes, executive editor of ''The Weekly Standard
''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "red ...
,'' discussed JournoList saying, "... hundreds of journalists have gotten together, on an online listserv called JournoList, to promote liberalism and liberal politicians at the expense of traditional journalism."
Defense of JournoList members
JournoList member Jonathan Chait
Jonathan Benjamin Chait () (born May 1, 1972) is an American pundit and writer for '' New York'' magazine. He was previously a senior editor at ''The New Republic'' and an assistant editor of ''The American Prospect''. He writes a periodic col ...
says that "the group as a whole did not jointly participate" in any particular discussion thread. "Almost every discussion was limited to a small percentage of the group that was interested in the topic. Most people ignored most of the topics."
Kathleen Parker
Kathleen Parker is a columnist for ''The Washington Post''. Parker is a consulting faculty member at the Buckley School of Public Speaking, a popular guest on cable and network news programs and a regular guest on NBC's ''Meet the Press'', and p ...
, writing in ''The Washington Post'', argued that "perspective is needed here." She stated that comments had "been presented out of context and, besides, were offered as part of an ongoing argument among colleagues who believed they were acting in good faith that theirs was a private conversation." She also referred to JournoList writings as "the private comments of people who, for the most part, have no significant power" and had an expectation not to be 'outed'.
List member Joe Klein wrote at his ''Time'' blog, "The views I expressed on Journolist were the views I express here." He identified himself as moderate compared to most leftist members, who subjected his ideas to "onslaughts". He stated that allegations that list members colluded to produce talking points or plan activities with each other are simply false and the group debated with each with members valuing their individuality. He recounted that the only time list members could agree on "joint actions" was "meeting up at some bar."
Foster Kamer of ''The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'', who was not a JournoList member, has remarked that, emphasis in original, "''off-the-record'' means ''off-the-record'', and an assault on a journalist's right to express him or herself in private is an assault on both the freedom of the fourth estate and free speech in general". Greg Sargent of ''The Washington Post'', a list member, criticized Carlson for not posting JournoList threads in their entirety. He wrote that "publishing them would make it tougher to paint J-Listers as a secretive and omnipotent political cabal, rather than just a bunch of geeks and eggheads venting and arguing about politics".
Ezra Klein recounted Tucker Carlson's effort to become a member of JournoList, which he said he supported, and wrote: "I want to be very clear about what I was suggesting: Adding someone to the list meant giving them access to the entirety of the archives. That didn't bother me very much. Sure, you could comb through tens of thousands of e-mails and pull intemperate moments and inartful wording out of context to embarrass people, but so long as you weren't there with an eye towards malice, you'd recognize it for what it was: A wonkish, fun, political yelling match. If it had been an international media conspiracy, I'd have never considered opening it up. The idea was voted down. People worried about opening the archives to individuals who could help their careers by ripping e-mails out of context, misrepresenting the nature of the ongoing conversation, and bringing the world an exclusive look into The Great Journolist Conspiracy, as opposed to the daily life of Journolist, which even Carlson describes as 'actually pretty banal'."
Cabalist spin-off
After Klein shut down JournoList, a new group, calling itself "Cabalist" was started by Jonathan Cohn
Jonathan Scott Cohn (born 1969) is an American author and journalist who writes mainly on United States public policy and political issues. Formerly the executive editor of ''The American Prospect'' and a senior editor at ''The New Republic'', C ...
of ''The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
'', Michelle Goldberg
Michelle Goldberg (born 1975)"Michelle Goldberg". Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2016. Retrieved via Biography in Context database, January 28, 2017. is an American journalist and author, and an op-ed columnist for ''The New York Tim ...
and Steven Teles, a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
. The group, which had 173 members by late July, was made up mostly of former JournoList members. Its existence managed to stay secret for several weeks, until ''The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' magazine correspondent Jeffrey Goldberg
Jeffrey Mark Goldberg (born September 22, 1965) is an American journalist and editor-in-chief of ''The Atlantic'' magazine. During his nine years at ''The Atlantic'' prior to becoming editor, Goldberg became known for his coverage of foreign affa ...
revealed its existence in a blog post on July 21. Goldberg reported that one recent discussion concerned whether or not members should ignore the articles on ''The Daily Caller
''The Daily Caller'' is a right-wing news and opinion website based in Washington, D.C. It was founded by now-Fox News host Tucker Carlson and political pundit Neil Patel in 2010. Launched as a "conservative answer to ''The Huffington Post'' ...
'' website. "In other words, members of Journolist 2.0 were debating whether to collectively respond to a ''Daily Caller'' story alleging—inaccurately, in their minds—that members of Journolist 1.0 (the same people, of course) made collective decisions about what to write."[Goldberg, Jeffrey]
"Meet the New Journolist, Smaller Than the Old Journolist"
blog post, July 21, 2010, ''The Atlantic'' website, retrieved same day.
See also
*2016 Democratic National Committee email leak
The 2016 Democratic National Committee email leak is a collection of Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails stolen by one or more hackers operating under the pseudonym "Guccifer 2.0" who are alleged to be Russian intelligence agency hackers, ...
*Groundswell group
Groundswell is a coalition of prominent American conservative activists, including Virginia Thomas, who began meeting in 2013 in order to fight progressivism in the United States and the Republican Party (GOP) establishment. Groundswell went on t ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Journolist
2010 in American politics
2010 controversies
American journalism organizations
Criticism of journalism
Internet forums
Mass media-related controversies in the United States
The Washington Post
Internet properties established in 2007
Internet properties disestablished in 2010