That is ... dumb. Reporters listen to all potential sources and determine who's credible and who isn't. And every source has an agenda--including the subject of the piece, who is also a source.
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Replying to @espiers
This isn't really the view of the (completely random-ass mostly Doctor Who scholar) who got called in for a quote, and I think her logic is pretty solid.pic.twitter.com/Ssn0oL4yUN
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Replying to @Rationalist69 @espiers
In what possible sense is Sandifer "random-ass" in the pejorative sense you're using that term and Scott himself is not
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Replying to @arthur_affect @espiers
In the sense that, if you deemed Scott worthy of writing about (perhaps you disagree, but they had already crossed that line), this individual strikes me as a pretty random person to include, beyond the scope of advertising dirt on Scott on Twitter.pic.twitter.com/CGJMkf2via
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Replying to @Rationalist69 @espiers
She's studied the rationalist movement enough to write the only full-length critical book about them I'm aware of (Neoreaction: A Basilisk)
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You could say "It's self-published, why should I care about her opinion, however prolix, if academic and commercial gatekeepers don't" But then you'd have to ask the same thing about every single thing Scott, Eliezer, and most of their friends have written
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Replying to @arthur_affect @espiers
I don’t care about gatekeepers. My point is just that, if you were looking to do just an examination, a person who wrote a book on a kinda-sorta related phenomenon and was advertising dirt seems odd to go to. If you’re looking to do a hit piece, it makes perfect sensepic.twitter.com/EnRpO8JhOD
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Replying to @Rationalist69 @espiers
Right, the definition of "a hit piece" is "one where some of the sources dislike Scott"
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Replying to @arthur_affect @espiers
She would just strike me as low on the list for an overall view of why the blog is popular. I mean heck, even Ross Douthat or Ezra Klein or David Brooks work at the same building and have cited him, ask them? But, if the idea is to link the blog to various nebulous people...pic.twitter.com/87aoNNZdgp
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It seems like that’s what she was advertising, and that they took her up on it.pic.twitter.com/7Ne4ymvHIj
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Yes It is typical when reporting on a controversial public figure to at least try to reach out to sources who are hostile critics of that figure
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