Garrett Graff sits at the Jefferson, laptop bag by his side, and long long legs crossed at the ankles. He seems more a lanky Midwest farm hand than 23-year-old journalist from Vermont. Throughout the evening, people stop over to say hello -- colleagues, friends, fans. He knows everybody -- everybody who has anything to do with media in DC, that is.
If you don't know him by name, you might know him by handle. Graff writes FishbowlDC, a media gossip blog for Mediabistro.com. It started as a way for Graff, former editor of the Harvard Crimson, to return to journalism after helping found EchoDitto, a consulting agency. The blog launched in January. In his third month as FishbowlDC, Graff became a national story.
"I was interested in the question of who is a journalist," says Graff. So in March, Graff attempted to obtain a pass into the White House to cover the daily gaggle. He met the requirements laid out by the White House -- he worked for an independent and nonpartisan media outlet that is regularly published and primarily supported by subscribers or advertising -- but the door stayed shut to the repeated mantra of "we'll get back to you" from White House interns.
Graff reported it all on the blog, and the media started to notice. When he was finally handed his ticket inside, the man who covered the media became the story himself as the first blogger to be cover the White House.
"It was tremendous fun, but I have to be glad that it was positive press," says Graff of his time inside the fishbowl, which included interviews in The New York Times and appearances on MSNBC, CNN and Fox News. "Having been through that, I can see how easily it can bring someone down."
Not only has Graff's success sparked a national debate about "who is a journalist" and "what is a blog?" but traffic to the FishbowlDC website has quadrupled, a level sustained months after the White House appearance. Readers keep coming back to the blog for it's seamlessly blended mix of news, gossip and snark.
On Jeff Gannon: "Can I begin by asking if I’m the only one who thinks about the evil big boss from The Legend of Zelda when I heard the name 'Gannon'?"
On Vince Morris: "Don't tread on him. He may look like a GQ photospread, but he'll kick your ass."
On Wonkette possibly taking over "Reliable Source" at the Washington Post: "It's been nearly two hours since we first saw this and we're just now picking ourselves up off the floor. The involuntary twitching is settling down, and the puddle of drool is drying."
Graff is not what most people expect for a blogger. He is more the journalist at the Jefferson than the blogger typing from home. His skill at snuffing out morsels of DC media news makes FishbowlDC the place to turn to for all things media, but it's the man behind the handle that makes this crowded media market entertaining, and keeps readers coming back for more.
