TPM written up in the NYT - "Blogger, Sans Pajamas, Rakes Muck and a Prize"

[kpete]

TPM written up in the Times.

Blogger, Sans Pajamas, Rakes Muck and a Prize
Andrea Mohin/The New York Times

Joshua Micah Marshall started small as a blogger, gained a following, sought donations, built advertising and hired staff members.




By NOAM COHEN
Published: February 25, 2008
Of the many landmarks along a journalist’s career, two are among those that stand out: winning an award and making the government back down. Last week, Joshua Micah Marshall achieved both.


The Manhattan newsroom of Talking Points Memo is modest compared with conventional news operations. Much of its resources come from its readers.
On Tuesday, it was announced that he had won a George Polk Award for legal reporting for coverage of the firing of eight United States attorneys, critics charged under political circumstances. The “tenacious investigative reporting sparked interest by the traditional news media and led to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales,” the citation read.

Also last week, the Justice Department put him back on its mailing list for reporters with credentials after removing him last year.

Mr. Marshall does not belong to any traditional news organization. Instead, he is creating his own. His Web site, Talking Points Memo (www.talkingpointsmemo.com), is the first Internet-only news operation to receive the Polk (though in 2003, an award for Internet reporting was given to the Center for Public Integrity), and certainly one of the most influential political blogs in the country.

more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/25/business/media/25marshall.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=business&adxnnlx=1203944900-9raGH0kyGqlQL96N+Lt6bA

[annabanana]

1. All plaudits for Joshua Micah Marshall ..well deserved.

This guy has done an excellent job of elevating the effectiveness & visibility of the online world.

[babylonsister]

2. Rec'd! Many kudos to Josh and TPM! nt

[girl gone mad]

3. I can't think of any blogger more deserving.

WTG, Josh!

[lynnertic]

4. That office is an ergonomic nightmare.

Folding tables, folding chairs, nobody's got a monitor at eye level, all elbows I see are unsupported and hanging off into space.

Hopefully the gains that Mr. Marshall sees with this award will let him buy some office chairs and proper desks.

On edit - I jumped the gun. I added the photo above - the people furthest from the camera have proper chairs. But their desks are still so shallow that you can't stretch your legs beneath them.

[Hamlette]

5. k&r everyone should read Josh everyday. He is doing great work. n/t

[Triana]

6. Indy media goes mainstream - excellent!

I'd like to see more of this - media run and supported by the people, or individuals or groups who are beholden to public integrity and truth and justice - instead of media run by large corporations who are only beholden to their own bottom line.

If this happens enough (and we're a LONG way from that, sadly), Indy media could squeeze out the 'lame'stream corprat-owned media and make them an irrelevant, comical commodity (not that they're not already to those of us who are paying any attention).

Of course this may be a theoretical pipe-dream. Notice I said "could" - which doesn't mean such a transition is probable - or even possible.

But when something like TPM's recognition and award happens, it causes me to hope.