Washington Post update: iPad app still shines, Sally Quinn gets honored, and I remember the darker side—the Post’s role in Gary Webb’s suicide

Do Ben Bradlee and other Washington Post luminaries actually use the iPad app they touted in one hoot of a promo video? I suspect so.  What’s more, since my mostly favorable review of November 9, I’ve usually read the Post via the app. I have even accustomed myself to the vertical swiping needed to see […]

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How Washington Post and New York Times could outgun hyperlocal sites like TBD and Baristanet

In 2004 Baristanet—the lively hyperlocal network that helped inspire similar operations in several states—started writing up picnics, schools and other neighborly news in Essex County, NJ. Some five years later, The New York Times set up shop with blogs for Maplewood, Millburn and South Orange, all in the same county. Last month one of the […]

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Georgetown Dish joins TBD blog network: Deju vu angles—in Washington Post’s backyard

Newest member of the TBD blog network in the Washington area is is none other than the Georgetown Dish. It’s the same hyperlocal site I’ve been mentioning for some months now because of the fame of the neighborhood and the lively writing—and, yes, a founder named Beth Solomon. Georgetown is home to ex-Washington Post editor […]

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TBD, meet NYC’s Westside Independent: Role model for SOME neighborhood blog affiliates?

You already know if you’ve been following the Solomon Scandals blog. My name is David, I’m a newsaholic, and I’m cheering for the TBD news startup to thrive here in the Washington area. But will topics like sports and food elbow aside civic matters at times because of the personal passions of TBD’s affiliate bloggers? […]

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‘David Rothman’ namesakes: Egosurfers, here’s what the rest of us are up to

I’ve remarked before on weird coincidences related to my name. Two letters, for example, distinguish me from David Roffman, at least if you don’t include middle names. He’s the veteran journalist associated with the Georgetowner newspaper, shown with a Kitty Kelley feature (temporary link). Much of The Solomon Scandals happens in Georgetown, which, by the […]

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Hyperlocal journalism: Georgetown publisher robbed—and eager to tell neighbors about it. Lesson for the Washington Post?

Update, 1:47 p.m.: Post rival’s local news strategy—a Poynter Institute item. – D.R. My online friend Beth Solomon, publisher of TheGeorgetownDish and absolutely no relative of the Sy Solomon in my newspaper novel, got robbed. A thief carried off Beth’s purse, checkbook, credit cards, wallet, car keys, iPhone, Blackberry, everything, after she left her car […]

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TheGeorgetownDish is eying D.C. suburbs—plus Greenwich, Palm Beach, other upscale markets

So what’s ahead for TheGeorgetownDish—the new Web-based newspaper in the D.C. neighborhood where so many high-powered media types live? How can I not be curious when the publisher is named Solomon? Beth S. writes back: “We are working hard to create a world class site for Georgetown. As we perfect TheGeorgetownDish, we will be looking […]

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TheGeorgetownDish starts up: Hyperlocal newspaper war ahead? Or a friendly buyout?

A new online newspaper, the TheGeorgetown Dish, is starting up right in the neighborhood of Ben Bradlee, Sally Quinn and other VIP journalists. Beth Solomon—no relationship to the fictitious government landlord in The Solomon Scandals, thank you—is the editor and publisher. She has worked at ABC News and Voice of America among other places. Robb […]

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The Georgetown name game: Roffman, Rothman, Solomon and The Georgetowner

Two kinds of parties show up in The Solomon Scandals, my D.C. media novel: the private variety (“party-parties”) and “name-in-the-paper parties” (where the givers and the guests want publicity). For both, the location is still the Georgetown section of Washington, famous over the years as home to the liberal elite. I’ve never applied for “elite” […]

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