Marc Cooper, Mayhill flower's editor at Huffpo, has posted an in-depth explanation of the story which has raised such a storm.
LINK
As the editorial coordinator of HuffPost’s OffTheBus project, I had the privilege and responsibility of doing the final edit andobamaguns.jpg ultimately approving for publication the web story Friday that has set off a firestorm over Barack Obama’s remarks about a "bitter" attitude that sometimes plagues economically-pressed small towns. Specifically those in Pennsylvania.
Here’s the background: Last Sunday, citizen journalist Mayhill Fowler – true superstar at OffTheBus and a declared Obama supporter-- was present at an Obama fund raiser in San Francisco during which the candidate got a little loose lipped with the crowed while her tape recorder was running. On Monday she filed an initial story – which also got a lot of attention—on his declarations that he doesn’t need a hawk to bolster him as VP.
I want to say a few words about the author of the piece, Mayhill Fowler. A highly-educated, sophisticated intellectual as well as an ardent Obama supporter, she has become a mainstay of OffTheBus. She employs a highly-personalized, reflective narrative style to her unconventional reporting – an approach that would be, indeed, non-grata, within the official campaign reporting bubble. It violates almost all of the conventions of traditional reporting (though not its ethical code) and that's what makes it all so damn interesting.
Marc Cooper is a pro, with decades of experience at The Nation and L.A. Weekly and lots of other places. At the link, he explains how the story came about, and anwers some questions in the comments thread.
I posted this because there seems to be a lot of curiousity about this story and about Fowler, and a distressing number of conspiracy theories developing around this.
Enjoy.