Conservative columnist, publisher Andrew Breitbart dead at 43
by Andrew Moran (Guest writer/Digital Journalist)
Conservative activist and blogger Andrew Breitbart has passed away from natural causes at the age of 43. He died shortly after midnight in his Los Angeles home. Breitbart is well-known for his support of the Tea Party and criticism of Occupy Wall Street.
Andrew Breitbart, the popular right-wing columnist, who ran five websites, including Breitbart.com, has died. It was announced on BigGovernment.com, an Andrew Breitbart website, that he passed away from natural causes.
Fox News is reporting that Breitbart was walking to his house when he collapsed. A bystander saw him collapse and immediately called paramedics. They attempted to revive him and then transported him to the emergency room at UCLA Medical Center. He suffered from heart problems a year earlier.
Breitbart is mostly known for helping Arianna Huffington launch The Huffington Post and working as an editor for the Drudge Report. He has also published journalistic pieces and has exposed unflattering stories of politicians, such as former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner.
“I love my job. I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and—famously—I enjoy making enemies,” wrote Breitbart in the conclusion of his new book, “Righteous Indignation.”
“Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I’ve lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I’ve gained hundreds, thousands—who knows?—of allies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night.”
The conservative publisher recently made headlines when he interrupted an Occupy rally outside of the Conservative Political Action Conference where he told the activists to “stop raping people.” He also told them to “behave themselves” and that they are “freaks and animals.”
Breitbart leaves behind four children and his wife, Susie Bean.Many comments over at BigGovernment.com have wished Breitbart well.
Meanwhile, ABC News is reporting that former Pennsylvania Senator and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum was “crestfallen” upon hearing the news from reporters.”Oh that’s shocking. Obviously prayers go to him and his family and it’s a big shock. What a powerful voice. It’s almost you mean you think of anyone who’s more energy who’s out there constantly driving and pushing he would be,” said Santorum on the campaign trail at a city hall in Georgia. “What a huge loss in my opinion for our country and certainly for the conservative movement and the prayers go out to my family. I’m sorry to hear it.”
This article originally appeared in Digital Journal [Link]
Flickr photo by Gage Skidmore
Journalist proposes to girlfriend via newspaper column
by Armando Tamayo (Guest contributor/Digital Journalist)
South Carolina newspaper reporter Nick McCormac asked his girlfriend to read his column on Tuesday morning. He decided to ask for the hand of his girlfriend in a non-traditional way: through a blog post.
McCormac, who wrote for the SC’s The Item, didn’t cover state or political news for the said column he simply titled, “A story of boy meets girl“. He instead wrote about his own tale with a girl he met a year and a half ago. McCormac wrote on his post: “No matter what I do or what I say, no words could ever justifiably describe how I feel about you. But there are six words that come awfully close. Whitney Bragg, will you marry me?”
Bragg read his column on her computer while McCormac looked nervously for her reaction. The couple was getting ready to leave for their respective work. In an interview with Daily News, McCormac said, “My stomach begin to drop as she took a few seconds to respond…finally, she started flapping her arms and turned around and had tears in her eyes.”
McCormac said he thought of the marriage proposal idea through his column a month ago while coming home from a military reporting conference. The column he said would be something he can keep for a very long time and something he can show his friends and family.
“I’m a lot better at writing than I am at speaking. Ever since I’ve become a professional writer, I’ve looked at it as something really unique,” he said on the interview. “Me being the sentimental sap I am, I wanted something that I could hold onto.”
In The Item column, McCormac described how he met Bragg, who just happen to came along with his long-lost-friend’s girlfriend in a bar. He described how he then saw Bragg as “…a sweet girl with a slight smile and blonde hair who resembled a young Meryl Streep.”McCormac described himself as a hopeless romantic “Like John Cusack as Lloyd Dobler inSay Anything (1989) boombox blasting Peter Gabriel and all.” He writes, “Words are my profession. They’re my living. My job is to take the most complex, complicated and confusing situations and describe them in a concise and simplistic manner.”
McCormac said that the response to his column was overwhelming from friends, families and readers. He said he celebrated the occasion by going to work and then answering messages from his future in-laws. “My battery on my phone is about to run out with people tweeting, emailing and calling” he said.
The column of McCormac was linked into a post by Steve Myers, a managing editor at Poynter.org, a journalism site. Myers playfully wrote “She said yes! …. (Alternate universe: McCormac asks Bragg if she read his column, and she says … No, why?) ”
This article was originally published on Digital Journal