Count me as someone who would like to see The Dish continue after Andrew Sullivan’s retirement. I have been reading Andrew for as long as he’s been published, and have been a happy Dish Head since its first day. I don’t pay directly for much on the Internet, but his site has been well worth my time and money.
Andrew is a hard and deep thinker, and there’s nothing I enjoy more than reading something of his that I am inclined to disagree with to see if he can change my mind. Sometimes he has (the Clintons’ lust for power), sometimes not (NFL concussions), and sometimes I’m left suspended in mid-air (Trig Palin).
But there’s a less discussed aspect to The Dish that I would like to see survive him. Over the years, it has developed into what would have been called, in an earlier time, a salon. A great deal of Dishness happens when Andrew steps aside and just serves as the host for a vivacious discussion among well-informed and highly interesting voices.
My guess is that this is not something he is able to achieve on his own. The staff at The Dish has developed a keen judgment about what things are worth my time. And that includes not only thoughtful and sometimes dyspeptic argument, but also the invaluable Mental Health Breaks, the cream of dog and cat videos, and the Sunday Sermons that are better than anything I remember from any Catholic priest I ever had to listen to.
Even without Andrew, I think that sensibility can continue. I know it is something I rely on, and possibly am addicted to. The Dish filters out much of the Internet’s toxicity. We are all going to need sites with that kind of judgment in the years to come. I’m ready to continue supporting the people who are doing that job so well right now, if they are willing.
5 Comments for “The Dish (cont.)”
posted by Mike in Houston on
Pam Spaulding showed how to bow out with grace when she closed up The Blend…
Rather than see the Dish follow the Wonkette path, I hope Sully follows Pam’s lead.
posted by Stuart on
heh heh. . .hard and deep. . .heh heh
posted by Tom Jefferson III on
Andrew Sullivan probably got to a point in his life, where he didn’t really have to work anymore and he can probably always generate a tidy income with future lectures, talking head on a cable news shows or maybe a book deal down the road. Heck, I would not even dismiss the possibility of his own video game or reality TV show. ;0)
He said some stuff that I thought was smart, and some stuff that I was pretty lame. He did/said some stuff that I thought was unethical/sleezy.
His book “Virtually Normal” tends to be greatly over and under-rated. I have not read enough of his earlier work — i.e. New Republic days — to comment much on it.
posted by Don on
what I think I will miss about it is he is one of only a few writers that admits being wrong, regularly publishes dissent that is blistering, and expresses doubt when he had it.
Could you imagine a sunday morning roundtable doing anything vaguely similar? How about Gay Patriot? Yeah, me neither.
THAT is what I will miss.
posted by Francis on
I am a fairly recent Dish Head, myself. He came to me as something of a tonic after the shrill partisan hackery of cable news. Having found the guest articles written on his holidays satisfactory, I’d gladly support the Dish if it decided to go on after his retirement. If the Dish does close however, I’ll just have to soldier on as best I can.