Peter Schorsch
There is no best quarterback in the National Football League, only a collection of elite players who can each make a claim for that title. Is Tom Brady really better than Aaron Rodgers? When healthy, is Peyton Manning the top thrower? What about Drew Brees or Russell Wilson?
Similarly, there isn’t a best political reporter in Florida, only a collection of top-notch journalists who can each make a claim for that title. Is Gary Fineout really better than Carol Marbin Miller? What about Matt Dixon or Brendan Farrington?
Certainly Marc Caputo belongs in a discussion about the best political reporters in Florida. That’s part of the reason why he was so sought after by Politico when it decided to expand to the Sunshine State. It’s been a very interesting couple of weeks since Caputo began working there. Here at Extensive Enterprises Media, we’re keeping a close eye on our competition to the South because Caputo is, well, Caputo. And his “Florida Playbook” email is a semi-competitor to our “Sunburn” email (which we admittedly copied from Politico’s Mike Allen’s Playbook).
After a few kinks, including not blind-copying who he distributed his email to, Caputo is now finding his rhythm with “Florida Playbook.” Today’s email, with its lead about Caputo’s extensive reporting on how Jeb Bush so quickly became the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination, is the best edition — and not just because it includes several links to stories on SaintPetersBlog.com and FloridaPolitics.com.
What’s also interesting about Caputo’s work at Politico is the ridiculous cold shoulder it is seemingly receiving from Caputo’s former colleagues at the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times.
Last week, Caputo scooped that major Republican donor Mike Fernandez was going “all in” for Jeb Bush. Caputo’s report in FP:
“All in for Jeb,” the title of a March 9 fundraiser, already has $2.5 million in commitments –and that could double soon, according to an email sent by healthcare-investment guru Miguel “Mike” Fernandez, who’s hosting the event along with wife Constance at their Coral Gables mansion. Fernandez is expected to give $1 million to Bush’s “Right to Rise” political committees.
FERNANDEZ writes: “We need to let all others know that as Jeb’s ‘Home Team,’ we will lead the nation in contributions and enthusiasm!… “Friends stick with friends from day one. True friends don’t wait until the ‘reading of the tea leaves’ to commit….WE ARE BEING FORWARD IN OUR ASK BECAUSE WE ARE NOT GOING BACKWARDS!”
Yet that news was largely ignored by the Times/Herald, which took until yesterday to even mention Fernandez’s commitment to Bush, but without any of the details Caputo was reporting. In fact, it looked kind of silly for the Times‘ Alex Leary to report about Jeb Bush donors, um, praising Jeb Bush.
On Tuesday, Caputo reported about how close Debbie Wasserman Schultz is to pulling the trigger on a 2016 run for the U.S. Senate. Not only did the story light up social media, but Drudge linked to it, meaning it likely received thousands of reads.
No one at the Times/Herald has mentioned Caputo’s report or offered their own re-reporting of the DWS news.
This morning, Caputo and Ben White offered extensive reporting on Bush’s “shock and awe” non-campaign launch. Again, Caputo’s story is driving the day on social media, but not with anyone at the Times/Herald, which won’t even deign to retweet Caputo.
To this, I would tell Caputo, “Welcome to my world.” The Times/Herald has always acted as if the political news it reports occurs in a vacuum. But the reporters at the Times/Herald are doing their readers a disservice. For whatever reason, they are ignoring/not highlighting the important work of a former colleague who, by the way, is guiding the national conversation about Bush, Rubio, etc.
Caputo certainly doesn’t need me to stick up for him, but would it really hurt those Times/Herald reporters to hit the “like” or “retweet” button?
