Michael Kinsley (l) Joe Scarborough (r)
Print/online Capitol Hill news outlet Politico is hiring a pair of ideological bookends to write weekly opinion columns. On the left will be veteran journalist Michael Kinsley. On the right will be former US Representative and current MSNBC talker Joe Scarborough.
Editor-in-Chief John F. Harris and Executive Editor Jim VandeHei said, “Both Mike and Joe will write from an ideological perspective — something our current reporters and columnists do not do — and their work will be labeled accordingly. They’ll both write on what interests them and will not attempt to coordinate their columns. While they won’t be working in a classic point-counterpoint format (“Mike, you ignorant slut”), they will look for ways to engage each other in conversation from time to time.”
For Scarborough, the column amounts to an extension of his relationship with Politico – he already hosts Politico reporters on his cable show twice each morning.
RBR-TVBR observation: It’s not that Politico doesn’t have opinion in the mix – that sort of content can be found on its website just about any time one logs on. But it all comes from guest writers, so having a pair of pundits on staff will be breaking new ground.
There’s nothing wrong with a little cross-promotion, so the efforts on Kinsley and Scarborough should provide a little free exposure for their main employers.
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