Ana Marie Cox, founding editor of Wonkette, blogger for Time Magazine, political fiction scribe and overall fantastic reporter, was the Washington Editor for Radar Magazine until last Friday when everyone was laid off and the mag was shuttered. Cox has been covering the McCain campaign for two years, and Radar was paying for her to travel with the campaign. But without Radar and their money, Cox’s future on the campaign plane was looking bleak. But she has turned out to be the little reporter that could, putting a call out to her readers to help her spend these last precious days with McCain and Palin. In less than a week, she’s raised over $7,000 to keep her on the trail. The journalism industry is so rocky right now, so the fact that readers are indeed willing to pay for good reporting is really affirming.
She also just got an additional $2,000 from The Washington Independent to provide dispatches for them, so things are looking up. She is whip smart with a unique voice, and as sick as we all are of this campaign, her words from the front lines are worth checking out. Her personal blog and twitter account are also great, offering a behind the scenes look at traveling with the campaign. And of course, if you have some extra dollars, they are welcome and needed. Donate right here. LS
“Fantastic reporter”? You’re joking, right? From her Wikipedia entry:
On April 12, 2007, Cox claimed on Time’s website that she agreed to appear on Don Imus’s radio show, despite his history of racist and sexist comments, because she wanted to be considered part of the media elite. Cox wrote: “I’m embarrassed to admit that it took Imus’ saying something so devastatingly crass to make me realize that there just was no reason beyond ego to play along. I did the show almost solely to earn my media-elite merit badge.”
On March 4, 2008, Cox declared that she was less a reporter and “supposed to be writing the more feature-y, bloggy, scene-driven stuff.”