Politics dude doesn't think WaPo's Nats writer can handle politics

The Washington Post is promoting its Nats writer, Chelsea Janes, to cover the 2020 Presidential election. A yokel on Politics Twitter lamented the hire because it shows that the media is only interested in the "horse race" of politics, whatever that means.

Anyways, here's a bad take for everyone's enjoyment.

 

A. She'll do fine. Politics writing ain't magic.

B. It's one person who thinks it's a bad idea. Who gives a shit.

 

Politics is all about analytics now too. It isn't like she's a lifestyle reporter for a Miami morning show.

 

Covering baseball is actually excellent preparation for politics. Both are daily grinds.

 

Lots of journalists have written about sports and war.

 

I'd argue the Nats clubhouse over the last couple of years is pretty good training for the "media pens" of the Trump era.

 

Just one example: When the Berlin Wall fell, Gannett sent the late, great Shelby Strother. Sportswriters know drama.

"He was a reporter of enormous range and the best writer I've worked with. Our readers will miss him as much as we will. In the times I spent talking with him alone, I was always touched by the great sensitivity he showed toward people and the wonderful ideas he had for stories he wanted to do. You can never replace a man like this."

Detroit News sports columnist Shelby Strother dies

 

Such classic Trumpist sexist bullshit. Would this guy take the time to whine about a man who made this move?

 

He has a point about major media and election horse race coverage, but the promotion of the reporter isn’t illustrative of that.

 

Agreed. He probably believes that political reporting is too focused on the horse race (i.e., so-and-so is leading by two points in this poll or voters think less of so-and-so after embarrassing video was released) and not enough on, as he said, policies and ideas. Some sports beat writers focus on injury updates, how the team is doing in the standings, and other daily updates without also doing the trend stories or analytical stories that enlighten readers (not saying James is guilty of this; haven’t read her work). He made a good point but did so in a poor way.

 

He's no Trump fan.