Now that I have the first of many inflammatory, useless headlines out of the way…
My name is Greg Piper, and I run The Smoking Room at GregPiper.com. Joe asked me to give you a little description, and since guest-blogging is a twisted form of altruism, I’ll do my best to seduce a few of you to hook up with my site occasionally. (For a quick description by Joe, check his review of my site almost a year ago.)
Until last summer I lived in Seattle, where I graduated college in 2001. My major was political science but my passion was the university newspaper, where I got a reputation for hard investigative pieces and colorful editorials. The journalism bug continued to lay eggs in my brain, so I started an alternative campus paper after graduation with the intention of making up for the bland caution of the school paper. At this point I was working full-time in media relations for the Discovery Institute, a name I’m sure a few of you recognize. (I’ll just say that 1) its science education work is more thoughtful and nuanced than critics think; 2) it has several other programs: technology regulation, legal system, bioethics, and a regional transportation program that is broadly popular with Puget Sound leaders, including the Seattle Times editorial board.) I did media for all but the science program, and was an early proponent of blogging at the Institute.
I moved to DC with the hope of returning to my journalism roots or continuing at a think tank such as AEI or Brookings, and just finished a Hill internship. My biggest thrill so far is meeting Wonkette in person. Biggest disappointment is the absence of bohemian coffeehouses and the short size (8 oz.); both are common in Seattle. Like Joe, I’m not big into flame wars and name-calling; I have a definite point of view but I enjoy good argument and lots of pop culture fluff as a respite from this grueling world of ours. On my site I focus on media trends, international news, domestic politics, culture, and chronicling this strange place called Washington, DC. Hope you enjoy my contributions for the next few days!
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.