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Okay - so - you know - I don't want to whine. I don't want to claw. I don't want to - oh hell, you know what? I'm pissy. I'm just very very pissy because Politico, which I really do read and really do get news from, had a reporter write a story about political bloggers who run for office (see, here it is - More Bloggers Throw Hat in the Ring.) The reporter got to me by THREE different routes: Alan Rosenblatt emailed me to include me in on a conversation when he first got contacted, then the reporter contacted me directly and then BlogHer got a shout out from the reporter and they asked me if I would like to speak with him (by which time I'd already set up a phone call with the writer).
And we talked for over an hour. And I told him to check with Technorati, which it didn't sound like he was going to do or hadn't thought of yet, because that would put into metrics and context just how many political bloggers there even are, let alone those that run for office that we can find/trace/hear about (given how hyper-local both blogging and running for office can be).
Then at this little gathering of 2400 bloggers, called BlogHer10, you know, I do this thing called an Inspirational Call to Action speech for 50-60 female bloggers who are interested in running for office or helping others run for office or advancing their causes through the political process and you know, I feel, like Denise encourages us to, kinda powerful - like I'm going to make a difference, just from my blogging - and, you know, running for office, all by my lonesome (with some serious BlogHer mojo behind me of course).
Then I follow up and get a nice note that the article will post this week, and I'm not going to be in it but my info was very helpful (of course it was - why else do you stay on the phone with me for an hour?).
And then I read it. And you know what? My heart sank - it sank. Because it mentions my city - but not me.
Pepper Pike is 11 characters or spaces. Jill Miller Zimon is 17 characters or spaces. The reporter says it was a space issue.
Now, most of you who know me one way or another know, I'm just not huge into attention grabbing. I like to - no, LOVE to - push out information, share information, butt in when I've got resources to share. But taking credit just isn't high on my list. My city council colleagues know it, other writers know it, and bloggers know it. I just rarely fight over attribution kind of stuff - not even traffic - I have no ads (I'm lucky). Even at BlogHer10, where the Don't Get Mad, Get Elected slogan (which dates back WAY before me or even the White House Project) got used to fantastic effect, I was feeling a bit, "But hey! I used it first!" just because I'd used it in my speech, but duh - of course I KNEW its real power: it's a rallying cry - who said it is completely irrelevant and its origin fades in comparison to all else accomplished in its wake.
So this Politico thing? Well, to me, a poltical blogger who is constantly chronicling the coverage of women in politics, which is contained to a novelty piece once a week or once a month, it just seemed to me to super-highlight the guys, making mention of just two women - one with an anecdote and one by name. And the reporter, who is not a real twitterer yet, then tweeted a few additional names, including one from Ohio, and STILL doesn't mention my name.
Some sisters - you know who you are, started to make a bit of noise.
So - you all tell me - we women, we are so damn used to this kind of slight. Totally could be editing, totally could be story slant, totally could be more or less. But seriously - it bugged me.
Would it bug you? And what would you do about it? I mean - it is Politico, after all, and Judd Legum and Eric Erikson have big enough platforms
