I clicked through on a Dan Riehl tweet to his post about a column by Conor Friedersdorf at Forbes, about something or other.
I don’t know who Conor Friedersdorf is, but Riehl doesn’t seem to like him, which is really surprising because Riehl likes just about everyone.
Anyway, Friedersdorf’s self description has to be the most overrated job description in the history of humankind:
Over at The Daily Dish, where I am a senior editor, my boss Andrew Sullivan …
This raises several important questions:
- The Daily Dish is just a blog at The Atlantic; why does The Daily Dish need a “Senior Editor”?
- The only reason anyone reads The Daily Dish is to read what Andrew Sullivan has to say; why does The Daily Dish need a “Senior Editor”?
- Does Andrew Sullivan really think he can brand The Daily Dish?
- Is there a Junior Editor, and if so, why does The Daily Dish need a “Senior Editor”?
- What exactly does the Senor Editor of The Daily Dish edit?
- If the Senior Editor of The Daily Dish fell in the woods, would anyone notice?
- Why doesn’t Friedersdorf list his position as Senior Editor of The Daily Dish on his LinkedIn page? (Quick, tell Greg Sargent and TPM – scandal!)
- Friedersdorf uses the phrase “where I am a senior editor,” which implies that there may be other Senior Editors. Multiply these questions by the number of times Sarah Palin has been mentioned at The Daily Dish, then divide by the projected national budget deficit, then multiply by the number of Senior Editors of The Daily Dish, and I’m pretty sure you get Pi.
At least Friedersdorf is not Senior Investigative Editor of The Daily Dish, which would have required travel to Alaska in search of the Biggest Fraud In The History Of Humankind.
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Comments
Friedersdorf and Sullivan deserve each other. Both have taken to calling themselves "true conservatives" while having nothing but bile and hatred for actual conservatives. They (and Frum, for example) are the go-to guys for the left to get quotes about how "extreme" conservatives have become.
You know — extreme like insisting on the application of the Constitution.
"and I'm pretty sure you get Pi." Proving that pi are, indeed, square.
I have a BSCS, BSEE, MBA, LPI certification. Probably not the skills needed for your blog Mr. Jacobson. But I'll tell you what, if you have an opening for a Senior Executive Flunky I am your man. Will forward resume shortly! 🙂
I've heard of him. He takes over for Sullivan sometimes. I linked one of his posts to one of mine and even gave him a Tag (which was annoying since I was sure no one would recognize the name; I'd been hoping I could at least use Sullivan's name).
The post was about Tea Partiers and how their quest was futile because replacing the current "ruling class" with another would simply yield more anger at the next ruling class. I took it upon myself to point out that the goal of the Tea Party is to install a ruling class that is humble enough to realize the real ruling class in America are the voters themselves (it even gave me a nifty slogan to put on a shirt).
By the way, I had some business cards printed up for my blog, and not thinking that "Creator" had quite the right tone, I merely listed my position as "Editor". Any suggestions on what I should have put there?
For reasons that will remain unstated, I just might know where Friedersdorf is coming from.
Since Friedersdorf is stuck working for (shudder) Andrew Sullivan, it's not surprising that he is trying to polish up his resume. One way to do that is to lobby a capricious boss for a fancy title which can be awarded on a whim. The choice & placement of the words …at The Daily Dish, where I am a senior editor, my boss Andrew Sullivan … do three things:
1. They push Friedersdorf's name to potential employers.
2. They do the aforementioned resume embellishing.
3. By letting the world know that Sullivan employs a senior editor, they make Sullivan feel important–but they do not question his prerogative to appoint more senior editors if the fancy moves him. (It's almost as though Friedersdorf thinks his boss is susceptible to impulsive emotional extremes.)
I see that other commenters have posted along similar lines to the foregoing.
"I don't know who Conor Friedersdorf is, but Riehl doesn't seem to like him, which is really surprising because Riehl likes just about everyone."
Now THAT is dry humor sublime.
"Since Friedersdorf is stuck working for (shudder) Andrew Sullivan, it's not surprising that he is trying to polish up his resume"
Among other things
"Is there a Junior Editor"
Or a Sophomore Editor?
Can I be Senior Executive Vice President of Marketing?
@JohnJ – Sure, contact the First Vice President for Sales and Administration, to whom you will report.
Actually, everyone eventually reports to the Office Administrator, who has likely held all those "senior" positions at one time or another and finally just got tired of herding cats– and now has them all in their appropriate pens for scheduled maintenance and mealtimes. Plus, she never ever uses the marketing term "reach out to" or the despicable "ask" as a noun.
My resume and c.v. to follow.
How long do I have to work for you before I'm eligble for those 99 weeks of unemployment, er, funemployment benefits?
You forgot #9 — He says he's A senior editor, not THE senior editor, which implies that there's more than one…
look, having enough crazy to fill up that blog, week after week, is not a one man job.
"Senior Editor" means he's on the hook to write 51 percent of the posts when Sullivan goes on vacation but doesn't bother to tell any of his readers.
Help me to understand this.
"Senior Editor" means that you have some kind of writing/editing authority over someone else. Which, in most lines of work, makes you their boss.
Conor, however, refers to Andrew as his "boss," which means one of two things. Either:
(a) There are people below Conor working at the Daily Dish who produce/publish material
or
(b) Andrew wants the status of having a blog with a senior editor, but doesn't actually want the person to have any power over him, so he's killed the very nature of the position.
Or am I missing something?
Dear Professor:
Please consider me for any position that begins with "Senior". My main qualifications are advanced age ("Senior", get it?) and a willingness to work cheep. Very cheep. DIRT cheep.
PS I know how to use spell check. I just don't, sometimes.
PPS – I once shared offices with a guy who confided that when any of his staff wanted a raise, his first move was to give them a new, fancy-schmancy title. Titles, as the lout smugly told me, cost him nothing. I forget what title he gave the receptionist, but it was nearly as big as her bust, which was considerable.
@Stephen: "I merely listed my position as "Editor". Any suggestions on what I should have put there?"
Why, "Senior Editor", of course! After all, no need to be humble!
I tried to get your Executive Vice President for Legal Affairs, but it was busy. So I just called your law firm of "Johnson, Johnson, Johnson and Johnson". I asked is Mr. Johnson was there. They said no, he was out sick today. I then asked if Mr. Johnson was available, and they said no, he was on vacation. I then asked for Mr. Johnson, and they said he was in court. I then asked for Mr. Johnson, and they said, "Speaking." Ba-da-bum. (Apologies to Henny Youngman).
"5. What exactly does the Senor Editor of The Daily Dish edit?"
Looks like someone really does need an Editor. Senor? I cold do it, I have a natural talent for editing.
@A.W.
"…look, having enough crazy to fill up that blog, week after week, is not a one man job"
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!
@Stephen: "I merely listed my position as 'Editor.' Any suggestions on what I should have put there?"
My sense is that "Editor" is just a wee bit too common, perhaps even slightly pedestrian. You want it to be clear that YOU are the muckety-muck in charge! So go for it!
But regardless of what others may say, please DO NOT go calling yourself the "Senior" anything. There are obvious connotations to that qualifier that are just not good.
Among them: 1.) you are not really in charge of anything, but have merely survived longer than the other bozos, all of whom were at a minimum a bit smarter than you because they at least had the intelligence to move on; and, 2.) your final days will unquestionably be played out in that little pond!
That was where Conor "One-N" Friedersdorf made his big mistake. He put himself down with that not-so-subtle act of title-dropping.
No . . . you need a title with some juice! So, here are some possible choices:
Editor-in-Chief; Seignior (or Seygnour if you have a preference for Middle English); Commandant; Grand Sachen; Lord of the Ascendant; Suzerain; Liege Lord; Kaiser (but not Tzar – too common); and possibly Nawab.
If you are musically inclined, or a fan of The Mikado" by Gilbert and the other Sullivan, you may also want to consider Poobah, or perhaps Lord High Everything Else.
Finally, there is a title of somewhat recent vintage that, for a short while, seemed pretty catchy. I would not be inclined to use it myself, but not everyone has the same taste . . .
How would this look on your blog's mast head?
Stephen . . . The One
I haven't given Andrew Sullivan a click since 2005, and here's why:
In '02 or '03 (as I recall), Sullivan, selling himself as a conservative supporter of the forcible removal of Saddam Hussein, starts asking for money to keep his blog going. Goofball that I was, I actually gave him twenty five bucks.
Then, he announces that he's for John Kerry, because he wants out of Iraq, and thinks Kerry is more likely to withdraw.
Then, as Kerry goes down to defeat, he announces another fundraising drive. Presumably, this gets him money from suckers who expect him to keep on blogging.
Then, no sooner than the fund drive ends,he announces that he's taking a break from blogging, because he's just so darned tired of it.
Then, he announces he's retiring from blogging.
Then, he gets himself a paying gig with Time Warner.
I'm told that he later became obsessed with the Downs Syndrome child born to the Palin family. His hypothesis was that the child was born, not to a woman in her forties, but to a teenager.
Why anybody takes this person seriously anymore is beyond my powers of apprehension.
The only way to get to Senior Editor at that page is to work your way up from Junior Buttboy.
I'm very amused at the notion that Dan Riehl is super sweet and likes everyone.
I guess that's some kind of joke, though? There are only a handful of bloggers who are quicker to start insulting people and making nasty assumptions, or to start name calling a commenter.
Just one example is Reihl's angry attacks on Patterico, who has been batting down Conor Friedersdorf for at least a year. Some people choose bluster, and some people choose to be informed. You can tell who is who by how surprised they are at well known shills like Conor Friedersdorf, or whether Christine O'Donnell is a shameless liar (she obviously is).
I thought amateur gynaecologists like Sullivan
needed Medical Assistants, not Senior Editors.
If the Senior Editor of The Daily Dish fell in the woods, would anyone notice?
Aww … Now that's just cruel.
Because you know that he did, and they didn't.