"Wolff in Cheap Clothing" - - Vanity Fair's, sloppy, lazy, media columnist

"Wolff in cheap clothing." Slate. Shafer, Jack. 5 May. 2005. http://www.slate.com/id/2118042/

Jack Shafer's column was simply a brutal, critical, and cynical analysis of Vanity Fair's columnist Michael Wolff's article "No Jokes, Please, We're Liberal." Shafer describes Wolff as too busy and bored to actually consume the media he assesses. Shafer's strong response to the article was due many slurs and negative remarks Wolff made a habit of making about Slate magazine, Wolff described it as " liberal media targeted at other people in the liberal media. Or, even more finely, targeted at other people in the liberal media who are concerned about issues such as the liberal media." The whole article was a battle of words, wits, and counter attacking as a method of defense of pride. Shafer described Michael as someone who was "Gifted with a hyperactive and malicious mind, Wolff's forte is not reporting and analysis. It's the oh-aren't-I-naughty clever slur, a talent worth admiring if not applauding, especially when you're the target. Which I, and the Web site I call home, am." The article goes on to further criticise Wolff and his column's lack of credibility.

I thought this article was very interesting because I had never realised how intense the media could get between two seperate magazines. It seemed a little bit ridiculous when you really think about it. I thought the article was eye opening and interesting. However, I'm not sure I would recommend it to others because it seemed more like a personal fight between two journalists, rather than an interesting piece of media literature.