Friday, August 12, 2005

Message Control

Happy Weekend to one and all... And this is looking to be quite a happy one. You won't be seeing much of me, snowflakes.

Before all else, I'd like to welcome new readers coming via the Fair Amy, Loose Cannon, Extreme Catholic, and the ever-powerful word of mouth (for which there is no link, sorry -- at least I don't have it....) Feel free to hang out a while, post a comment or two, or even drop me a line -- I really love the feedback.

But, for those curious about this writer who's "got the goods," as they say, I'd like to remind everyone that this is what I do. Period. I'm an occasional contributor to The Tablet, I've written and sourced for the San Francisco Chronicle, Beliefnet, and a host of other outlets on the affairs of the Holy See and the broader spectrum of Catholic world. And in the process, with a computer, a cellphone and a Rolodex wrapped in scarlet moire', I've been able to scoop the big boys on more than one nice-sized occasion. Hey, I don't like tooting my own horn, but it's true.

That said, I'm compelled to restate that I can't do this for free forever and I need some kind of standing gig. The work speaks for itself, and I've just been hoping that the rest will follow. So if you can help speed that along (i.e. into reality) and either: 1. have an outlet looking for this kind of thing, 2. have a foundation that can keep the work afloat or 3. happen to know a Bill Keller in New York, do be in touch. Grazie mille in advance.

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With the housekeeping out of the way, Extreme Catholic links here and muses on Joe Zwilling, portavoce perpetuo of the archdiocese of New York.
In [the Clark and McCarthy] cases, Cardinal Egan didn't face the media but let Joseph Zwilling represent him.

Zwilling is very professional and for people who get their news exclusively from TV, they have seen his face more than the face of the cardinal. I think that since his appointment to Cardinal, I've even seen Cardinal O'Connor's face on TV more than Cardinal Egan's. That's what I call a low profile.

Well, whenever something like this breaks, the bishop -- and this is the case 99.9999997% of the time -- runs as far from the cameras as he can go, lest he be affiliated with the news in any way. Low profile for bad news is the rule, not the exception.

Of course and obviously, reality and the long-term benefits of taking it head-on don't enter the calculus, but oh well. This is the Catholic church, after all. And it's clear to see who's worked for and earned good media cred and who hasn't.

Suffice it to say, Joe Zwilling has earned it in spades.

-30-

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