Been There, Done That, Shorted Out The Laptop

Brian Williams, the heir apparent to Tom Brokaw, praises bloggers to their faces, and then trashes them when talking to fellow members of the legacy media:

Williams, 45, is capable of showing good humor and a dry wit in public. When Time magazine held a lunch to discuss candidates for its person of the year, he exposed a side of his personality that is seldom seen on the air.

When a fellow panelist mentioned that bloggers had had a big impact on the reporting on Election Day, Williams waved that point away by quipping that the self-styled journalists are “on an equal footing with someone in a bathroom with a modem.”

As Glenn Reynolds writes, “And yet, they’re kicking your ass”. Meanwhile, John Hinderaker of Power Line adds a personal reminiscence:

I must admit that I expected better from Williams. As many readers will recall, I participated in NBC’s election night coverage on Nov. 2. I was at Rockefeller Center with Ana Marie Cox and Joe Trippi, representing the blogosphere. Around 1:00 in the morning, I was walking through a deserted lunch room, returning to our set, when a man approached from the opposite direction, heading toward the men’s room. Because he was well dressed and tanned, I took him to be an on-air person. He went out of his way to walk up to me, extended his hand, and introduced himself as Brian Williams. I’d never heard of him, but I said I was John Hinderaker. He said: “I just wanted to tell you that I really appreciate what you guys are doing.” I thanked him and walked on.

So: is Williams a secret admirer of bloggers like us, or not?

Beats me. I do wonder, though, about the bathroom reference. First we’re in our pajamas, now we’re posting from our bathrooms. What’s next, nude blogging from our hot tubs?Get over it, I say.

Batteries and a Wi-Fi connection make it doable; the problem is waterproofing the keyboard, while still allowing the monitor to be readable.

[beat]

OK, to be honest, I’ve never actually blogged from my Jacuzzi. But I have blogged about it–it’s amazing what being desperate for material will do to a man when he’s facing a deadline…