I saw I. F. Stone at Santa Cruz in, I think, 1980 or so. It was during his Greek Scholar period, so he didn't talk about politics so much, but it was a privilege just to hear him talk.
I think you're absolutely right, anyway. Stone would have had a role somewhere between Josh Marshall and Billmon. But I think maybe the people who are part of the industry don't like to be reminded of how much Stone accomplished entirely outside of it.
Should I have known that you were I. F. Stone's granddaughter? I didn't. All I can say is ... WOW.
That post was quite a mind-burst! (In a good way, I mean.) I will have to reread it a couple of times to take it all in. Meanwhile, congratulations on the 100th anniversary celebration, on your talk, and on holding your own in that maelstrom of sexism, (anti-blog) mediumism, and old-fartosis. 
I. F. Stone's granddaughter. DAMN!!
aimai:
Weird. Your granddad was my platonic ideal of a journalist. Well, him and Hunter Thompson (In my heart i'm a libertine). And I loved Beatty's book. In fact that book was so great, and my own professional journalistic universe was so dull, that I moved out of the profession altogether. I mean sure, they can blame blogging if they want to — or they can blame low-pay and Zoning Board meetings.
Anyway, fantastic stuff. I'm glad to you know you in the virtual sense. See you around the commentariat.
I miss your grandpa.
Aimai,
I was 13 years old in 1970, and my uncle, for my bar mitzvah present, bought me a subscription to then IF Stone's Bi-weekly. It was life changing, and you are certainly correct that he was a proto-blogger, but definitely still an investigative journalist.
I went on the warpath defending Izzy when Paul Berman went after Stone, and when even those who love Stone, failed in my view to fully defend the man's integrity and honesty.
Here are links to my blog posts about your grandfather:
http://mitchellfreedman.blogspot...e-
american.html
http://mitchellfreedman.blogspot...es-
ifstone.html
http://mitchellfreedman.blogspot...tone-
twice.html
Whoa...congrats on the link from Atrios, aimai!
Awesome.
What makes bloggers so fearsome to big media is our fearlessness. They have to sell ads, so they can't afford to offend, and we revel in offense.
Big print media, led by TV's descent into entertainment values and flayed like a rented mule by wingnuts working the refs, has abandoned its former (at least occasional) role of speaking truth to power. Unfortunately for its business, the willingness of factual reporters to say what's real and true without favor is the only competitive advantage they had left.
Opinion is free because of blogging. Except for rare combinations of expertise with journalism (e.g. Krugman), it's also better, more diverse, and more insightful. It's the facts that most bloggers can't originate, but we can comment on them, and our best is far better than the establishment's, since the conventional wisdom and the cocktail parties don't own us.
We also get to say words like 'bullshit' whenever we damn well feel like it, and that's just unfair. Big media pouts about that, but we're uncivil because our first goal is to find what's true, not to keep from offending some editor, some sponsor, or some source.
Ellen Hume who is now at MIT would get what you're talking about but I'm not sure Alex Jones at Harvard's Shorenstein Center would.
I live in Central Square and it would be a privilege to offer you a coffee or ice cream at Toscanini's if you're still in town.
First, what NiP said!
Second, forget about worrying about pay models for web content, the real tarpit that journalism has stumbled into is the sense that objectivity means balance. So if there's a "McCain's ads lie" story, there must be an "Obama's ads lie" story. Blogs don't need to do that, and our ability to call liars liars is freeing (and sure, sometimes abused) and terribly envied by journalists.
the real tarpit that journalism has stumbled into is the sense that objectivity means balance.
Yup. Case in point: the WaPo's Dumbudsman.
thanks everyone, for reading the post. I was ticked off when I wrote it but I hope you all enjoyed it as a kind of set, almost period piece reflecting the absurdity of the archtype "blogger v. journalist." Its nice to see so many Izzy fans on the net.
One of the best things to emerge out of this 100 year celebration is that after heroic efforts by my uncle, Izzy's eldest son, a searchable archive of the Weekly and Izzy's other writings is now available online. Here's a link to the Weekly online:
http://www.ifstone.org/
weekly_se...able_output.php
Its kind of stunning to go back and just read through them, in order.
aimai
Bloggers seem pretty fearful to me -- fearful of seeming weak, most of all, or they might spend less time proclaiming their own power.
You might be interested in a piece I did a while back for Nieman Reports: I.F. Stone's lessons for Internet journalism
http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/
in...kgroundid=00193
My conclusion: Bloggers are taking up where the great rebel journalist left off, but if the news industry is to thrive on the Internet, reporters and editors shouldn't be far behind. News organizations would do better online by replacing their bored monotone with a passionate adherence to traditional journalistic values.
Ah, Dan Froomkin, I've really really enjoyed your work and read that piece when it came out. You are right on the money and that is one of the points I made in my talk. And one of the points that Atrios made today in his post. What exists in the bloggosphere and only very newly for print journalism is a respect for, and courting of, an informed and passionate reader community. The reason people readily subscribed to the Weekly is the same reason people have turned to blogs for political opinion and news--because they like the focus, the voice, and the information. And, conversely, its the same reason that readers are turning away from reading the newspaper front to back, regardless of byline or subject but instead turning to news aggregators and to partisan sources for information: because the faux objectivity, the reliance on he said/she said reporting, the unwillingness to call a lie a lie, and the a host of other flaws in modern journalism are inherently unsatisfying and unresponsive to reader's interests. Readers have opinions and ideas and they want to see those ideas spoken for. The insistence of journalists in pretending to speak an anodyne, balanced, offend no one almost random set of facts is an insult to passionate, informed readers.
I only had five minutes and I couldn't even scratch the surface of all the incidents, in the last eight years, where these issues have played out but of course one of the most obvious to blog readers will be Deborah Howell's enraged reaction to the blog swarm of criticism she and the wapo received for trying to fake an equivalency over democratic and republican involvement with Abramoff, the tribes, and bribes. The opening of the newspaper and the journalist to critical reading and backlash from readers in the online comments forum was clearly a huge affront to the journalists ability to assume that readers exist only to take in what journalists dish out. But its a battle that has already been won on blogs. Every commenter isn't a king, but at least we don't set out to insult all our readers by lying to their faces.
Add me to the chorus. Your connection to I.F. is really cool.
I think your analogy to the coffee houses is a good one. There are bloggers who are doing actual journalism and much respect is due them, but that's not what most of you are about.
thanks everyone, for reading the post. I was ticked off when I wrote it but I hope you all enjoyed it as a kind of set, almost period piece reflecting the absurdity of the archtype "blogger v. journalist."
I loved it!
I don't know which one of his children is your mother or father, but I was a student in Chris Stone's property class at USC law school. Rumor had it he was I.F. Stone's son. A really memorable character, and obviously brilliantly smart.
>choice for Attorney General....
>turned up their nose at my suggestion of Patrick Fitzgerald
Heck, next time suggest Vincent Bugliosi.
Make 'em squirm.
Two big thumbs up to aimai from each of the Hogans. Most of the talks consisted of anecdotes about Stone (which were great, and left at least me with the impression that he was, among other things, a compulsive smartass, although no one quite said that) and anodynes about Politics and Journalism and oh what would Izzy have to say about What's Happening Now, without thinking about an actual answer to that. aimai was the only one who got past the anodynes and talked not so much about what Izzy would have to say, but where and how he would say it.
We didn't get to stay for the afterparty (as it was, we got home at 1 am, and we're wicked old), but I saw the seeds being planted when Anthony Lewis took the time to respond to her (I assume he didn't get an advance copy of her remarks, so he must have decided on the spot that Something Must Be Said), and rolled out the line about blogs being all Opinion, and don't we also need the Facts that can only come from Real Journalism? (He kept saying "with apologies to [aimai]." I later said to my wife, "Anthony Lewis apologized to her! How cool is that?" She said, "Well, yeah, except he didn't really." And she was right.) As if the field reports on 538.com weren't better campaign reporting (in the literal sense) than most of what appeared in the Times or the Post.
In addition to all of the above, I think what's kicking mainstream journalism's ass right now is unthinking acceptance of that all-encompassing dichotomy between Fact and Opinion, as if (a) there's no overlap (how much "factual" reporting these days consists of "This is the opinion of White Guy With Official Title"?), and (b) everything is either one or the other. Surely there's something else--call it analysis or perspective--that involves not only reciting the immediate facts of this case, but recalling earlier facts from this and similar cases, noting repetitions of patterns, and applying simple principles like "insanity is bombing the same countries over and over and expecting different results" to what you find.
Thanks, aimai, for the invitation: it was an honor and a pleasure to attend the event, and a pleasure and an honor to have brunch with you.
And now the question I know you're all wondering about: aimai swears a lot less in person than she does online. Hardly at all, in fact.
Chris V.
Yes, my uncle Chris Stone, your law prof., was Izzy's youngest son. And he is, indeed, wickedly smart and terribly funny, too.
It was really fun to meet Hogan and the Mrs. and nice to know I had some *&^%% blog triumphalists in the audience.
aimai
I laughed through the whole thing. Just great - and too painfully true. It brought flashbacks of the time I was asked to appear on a blogging panel at the Philadelphia Inquirer. They used us for target practice (layoffs had just been announced the day before) and they kept asking, "Where's the accountability?"
I said, "Where was the accountability with Judy Miller?" The response from their Middle East expert: "Oh, Judy Miller! Everyone KNEW not to take her seriously!"
I said, gee, wouldn't it have been great if she'd shared that insight with her readers???
Leaving journalism was the best decision I ever made. I just couldn't maintain the necessary degree of cognitive dissonance.
So I guess that makes you Celia Gilbert's daughter? I guess I should have looked it up rather than be lazy...
Susie Madrak,
You are one of my idols in the bloggosphere. Yeah, I thought of you while I was going down punching.Still, trudy rubin, lots of great philadelphia people out there on every side of the aisle.
aimai
I said, "Where was the accountability with Judy Miller?" The response from their Middle East expert: "Oh, Judy Miller! Everyone KNEW not to take her seriously!"
I like that they think "accountability" means "the silent contempt of your peers." Explains a lot about the Inquirer.
(I was reading recently that in addition to newsroom layoffs, Time Inc. was cancelling newspaper and magazine subscriptions for reporters, because they can read all that stuff free online. Um, Time Inc., you do realize that's what's killing you, right?)
Oh aimai, you've been well and truly outed.
Hey hogan,
yeah, but it was worth it to stick a pin in my rage and let it all out. What amazes me is the circularity of all this--its not like we haven't been discussing this stuff, with names and dates and things, for ever. I didn't get a chance to really let my hair down about how HOwell Raines etc... spat in my eye for eight years (ish)causing me to lose faith in the NYT as an honest broker of information somewhat before blogging became an issue. I have to laugh about the Judy Miller story--when, exactly, did it become common knowledge that she was a pathological liar? Is this the same process whereby Lieberman will be understood to be really, really, sorry that he smeared Obama so no apology necessary? Or the same process whereby we all say "WMD? oh...uh...mistakes were made...generally speaking."
aimai
I never met Izzy Stone but he surely influenced me. Various newsletters I have published over the years have been consciously modeled on the Weekly (or, as it was by the time I became aware of it, the Bi-Weekly).
Some years ago I went to give a speech at a college history class. The instructor introduced me as "the next I. F. Stone." Obviously it hasn't worked out that way but I have never been more flattered than I was at that moment.
More regards for Izzy here. I saw I.F. Stone's Weekly - the movie at a small movie house in Seattle in the 70's, and it was a big eye opener. A small documentary, it's out of release and not available on DVD, and deserves to be seen by all of his political and journalistic godchildren of today. Does anyone know who currently owns the rights, and more importantly a showable print?
Interesting post; I acquired a new term, "alte cocker." I shall share it with my sister, who converted to Judaism some years ago, but doesn't know enough Yiddish!
I am just a simple loyal reader here, and am deficient in my knowledge of I.F Stone's writing, although I have read a wee bit of him. It will be a good perspective for me to read his work and think about its bloggish nature. Thank you.
Mark,
I don't know who has the rights and a showable print. It was a wonderful film but its always been shrouded in difficulty. I would love to see the documentary in circulation and be able to show a good copy to my children.
aimai
Isabelita,
I heartily recommend Miriam Weinstein's wonderful book "Yiddish"
http://www.amazon.com/Yiddish-Na...26959238&sr=8-
1
for a screamingly funny and sad history of the death of Yiddish (and the birth of Hebrew). Its an amazing book.
aimai
I remember when you accidentally outed yourself as Izzy's granddaughter years ago in Digby's comments! You had entered "name withheld this time" in Haloscan's comment box on a post Digby wrote about him, but the next time you posted as yourself, signing your name within the body of the post, you forgot to change it back. Anyway, I was impressed, and have always enjoyed reading your comments since then, wondering if it would ever be okay to acknowledge the connection.
There are three journalists I hold above all others: Charlie Eckman*, AJ Liebling** and your grandfather. And I was impressed that you lived next door to Chuck Tilly. Little did I know. I am sure that you passed on much wisdom which will flash before the recipient's eyes the day their paper goes bi-weekly or online only.
On ballplayers: "Its a simple game. You don't have to talk to those guys. What're they gonna tell ya? That they lost the grounder in the lights? Just watch what they do." Words to live by.
**I recall paraphrasing Liebling's line about typing and writing when some poor sap you set straight kept coming back for more.
I found a one-minute clip from the "I. F. Stone's Weekly" movie at YouTube, but as a '70s movie freak and Izzy fan, I've been looking for that movie for more than 25 years and that's the closest I've ever come to getting a whiff of its scent. It was only 62 minutes long, making it an uneasy fit for either the "shorts" or "features" category, and the director, Jerry Bruck, Jr., doesn't seem to have ever made another movie. Stuff like that falls between the cracks pretty easily. I'd still walk across town on my knees to see it.
Aimai...I worshiped your grandfather.
Hi Aimai.......I too loved reading about your grandfather. He's long been a hero of mine. And I LOVED reading about the memorial service and then reading the Hogans' great comments about it.
I've long enjoyed your comments on other sites. Thanks to Atrios for linking back to this one and this great post.
Your grandfather should be quite proud of you!
Amazing story. The commenters, though excellent, seem to have missed one point:
I. F. Stone's granddaughter?! Well, that explains a lot.
aimai, your grand-dad's little Weekly helped me get through the early Vietnam War era without my head exploding and helped shape my values. I've been immensely grateful ever since. He was definitely the closest thing we had to a blogger, although I think he was also an investigative journalist. I'm sure he would be blogging today. As it was, he had a way of reaching through the mail box that was somehow as intimate as a blog, and his stuff was so fresh and original that it felt nearly as immediate as a blog post. I can't thank him, so I'll thank you!
Oh, to have been a fly on a tombstone at the gorgeous Mt. Auburn Cemetery that day!
As a long-time reader of the Weekly and other Stone output (i.e., a smuggled copy of The Secret History of the Korean War while teaching in military-ruled Korea 1969-71), when exposed to blogging I thought immediately of Stone and was sure he would not only have approved but would have relished the essence of the best of it - citizen warriors digging for facts, disdainful of the smug incest of the chattering class, profoundly democratic and patriotic. The spirit lives! So glad that the family agrees.
The NY Times, or at least someone at the NY Times, starts to get it.
aimai: now I know why I've always looked for your comments first! I think your grandfather would be very proud of you. He always impressed me by being so straightforward -- so truthful.
Here's something I have failed to list as a virtue of the blogosphere:
"[T]he blogosphere serves as the fact-checkers that the mainstream media is too negligent to employ."
No more!
OT: FORCE CONGRESS TO IMPEACH GEORGE BUSH AND DICK CHENEY, call Nancy Pelosi @ 1-202-225-0100 and DEMAND IMPEACHMENT. DC business hours only, call often, and spread it around.
As one of Izzy's subscriber's in the late 60s & the 70s, I wish he were training modern reporters to do their background research.
I'm not in the news business, but I loved the way Izzy did it.
It's a pleasure to find that it runs in the genes.
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