Jennifer Rubin moves from
Commentary
to the
Washington Post
‘s op-ed pages, which is obviously a smart move for both parties. (Rough deal for
Commentary
, though.) Rubin had toiled in the vineyards of Pajamas Media and Commentary and the American Spectator for years, starting with smart stories that untangled complicated legal issues, moving to foreign policy and political punditry – with stories that
actually fact-checked
the politicians whom other writers were letting off easy – and becoming one of the pundits that Republican politicians take seriously.
Michael Calderone
mentions the hire
in the context of my brief tenure at the
Post
mothership. I’m not privy to how these decisions are made, but I was hired in April to join the national desk, the politics section of the paper/web product; Rubin joins the opinion side of the paper. I covered the conservative movement with an inside/outside perspective; Rubin is absolutely in and of the movement. What we have in common is immediacy bordering on OCD – I don’t think Rubin can let any news go un-analyzed, which is what you want in a blogger/reporter/pundit.
Carping from Media Matters about why the paper doesn’t need more conservatives when it already has Will, Krauthammer, Gerson and Thiessen to begin in 3, 2…
The memo from Fred Hiatt:
I’m delighted to announce that Jennifer Rubin will be joining The Post with the launch of a new blog next month. Jennifer will provide critical news coverage and commentary, with an exacting eye on conservative policy-making and Republican campaigns, pundits and politicians. From a conservative perspective, she also will cover a wide range of foreign and domestic issues and media controversies. We imagine her blog in some ways as a companion to Greg Sargent’s Plum Line, though of course with its own style and blend of reporting and analysis. With a Republican majority moving into the House and the 2012 Republican primary cycle gearing up, there couldn’t be a better time to bring Jennifer’s fresh perspective and insightful reporting to our readers.
Jennifer comes to The Post from Commentary Magazine where, as contributing editor and chief blogger, her provocative writing has become “must read” material for news and policy makers and avid political watchers. Her work has also appeared in the Weekly Standard, Politico, the New York Post, the New York Daily News, the National Review, the Jerusalem Post and numerous other print and online publications. Before her career in journalism, Jennifer was a labor and employment lawyer in Los Angeles for 20 years.
Also: The title of “most undervalued conservative reporter” now goes to Phil Klein of the
American Spectator
, with Robert Costa and Daniel Foster of
National Review
right behind.
