Winds of Change.NET: Winds of War: Casting Call

May 1, 2003

Winds of War: Casting Call

by Joe Katzman at May 1, 2003 9:12 AM

A little while ago, we asked : "Keep Winds of War?" The overall verdict seems to be "yes." The only way for me to do that without burning out is to bring on a new team member, one dedicated solely to our Winds of War news roundup feature.

Whomever it is won't be totally alone. I'll be there to help, and to contribute some links, but mostly it's going to be you and it will have your stamp on it. It's also possible to do this, and still maintain a blog of your own.

Here's what Winds of Change.NET is looking for:

Commander's Intent: Produce the best War on Terror update on the web. Not because it covers eveything - we already have Command Post and The Agonist for that, plus Rantburg and others. Because it consistently filters the flood to deliver the links that intrigue, amuse, and matter most.

Coverage: Iraq's aftermath and reconstruction is a linchpin of this war, so continuing coverage is important. Iran is the next linchpin, so ability to cover that well is an asset. Other areas of interest include Afghanistan, Israel, the Arab Middle East, Muslim Africa, Central Asia, Kashmir, Ireland, Colombia, the tri-border "Iguazu" area in southern Brazil, North Korea, Indonesia and SE Asia, and some U.S./North America Homeland Security. Primary foci are Iraq, Iran, North Korea (in that order), plus occasional updates from Israel and Afghanistan. Of course, the focus will shift if the strategic situation or the war's intensity shifts.

Commitment: Posts due 2, maybe 3 days a week during weekdays, 6-10 links is the starting point. Thinking of Mondays and Thursdays. Note that if 2-3 people wanted to get together and do this as a collective effort, we'd consider that.

Key Skills and Traits:

Basic groundings in foreign affairs, history, military matters, and intelligence matters. Your task is closer to a regular intelligence briefing than a reporter's role, and without these understandings it's hard to know what's really relevant and important.

Commitment to victory. If you believe the West is always wrong and vigorous action (including force) by the USA and others is unjustified, we aren't the place for you.

Sources from many sides. Don't want someone who reads and understands just the right side of the blogosphere. Winds of War should include links to updates and analysis from diverse sources. Ideal candidate(s) will also be able to add some foreign perspective or sources related to the regions in question.

Sharp writing & analysis. Conveying why a piece of news matters in 1-4 lines is a bit of an art form. Artists wanted.

Sense of humour. It's the only thing that make it all bearable, and our readers need that, too.Best way to respond is via email to Joe Katzman: joe at windsofchange dot net. If it looks like you have what it takes, we'll send you a template and give you a Guest Blog slot to run your own Winds of War edition and show what you can do.

I look forward to hearing from you!

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Comments

#1 from Yehudit at 4:54 pm on Apr 28, 2003

Joe, I have been reading Winds of War regularly, and I also post to the Command Post. A cursory reading would give one the impression that they cover the same ground, but although their links overlap a bit, they are quite distinct.

I can't put that difference into words right now, but it is real, and you should put something in your job description that defines it, otherwise WoW could become just a pale imitation of CP.

If i can put my finger on the uniqueness of WoW, I'll write it down.

#2 from Jeff Medcalf at 8:55 pm on Apr 28, 2003

Well, I think that the key is context. What CP and Agonist do is basically stream the news from multiple sources. What Joe has done with WoW is to select a smaller number of stories which provide a skeletal framework, to give a basic outline structure of current events. Then, the CP/Agonist stories hang off of that framework to fill out the news. It seems to me that whomever ends up editing WoW will need to be someone who can pick out the underlying threads of what is going on, put them into a historical/philosophical context, then link to those which demonstrate that context.

-jeff

#3 from Joe Katzman at 10:02 pm on Apr 28, 2003

Jeff, you get it exactly.