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courtesy of ‘The National Academy of Sciences’
Today the Vincent Gray campaign announced it would be holding a blogger roundtable at Ben’s Chili Bowl. The campaign sent invitations to many notable DC bloggers, offering an opportunity to sit down with the candidate and ask questions. After the whole street car fiasco, it made sense that the Gray campaign would want to build a better relationship. This is great news for the campaign, establishing a good relationship with D.C. bloggers could go a long way to helping get their message out. WMATA gets this. DC Water gets this. DDOT gets this. The list goes on, and it’s a great thing.
Unfortunately, the Gray campaign has stumbled in its implementation. Included in the invitation to the event was the following:
Unfortunately I have to make one point about expectations — this isn’t an opportunity for activism. We’ll expect the same level of decorum and professionalism exhibited by full-time journalists so that everyone who has a question gets the opportunity to have it answered.
Assuming this one goes well and is productive, we’ll have a few more availabilities exclusive to bloggers before Primary Day. We’ve tentatively planned them for the morning of July 31, the evening of August 16, and then the final one on the morning of September 4.
The fact that the campaign felt this sort of disclaimer was necessary shows a lack of understanding of what exactly we as bloggers do. The invitation was sent to many of the largest blogs in the District, to people who are not unfamiliar with how to attend an event and not cause a scene. Continue reading