The world of traditional media has overturned in the past decade – and few have ridden the crest of this wave more savvily than Michael Kinsley. As a pundit on CNN’s “Crossfire,” editing Slate, experimenting with the editorial page of the Los Angeles Times, and now at The Atlantic, Kinsley’s philosophy has been an open desire to speak truth to power, and to bend the boundaries of where and how the media engages with its audience. Philip Bump examines the arc of Kinsley’s career, and just how ahead of the curve that arc has been.

Washington Post ombudsman Andrew Alexander wrote an excellent piece about abusive online comments, pointing out some surprising consequences. Interestingly, Alexander also gives an astute defense of the value of the anonymous comment, and explains a fairly complicated new comment system that the Post is working on. A lot of these problems could be solved, though, and the online conversation could be enriched, by incorporating Twitter into online commenting.

Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea for NBC Washington to let readers vote on how they feel about obituaries on their website. 75% are “laughing,” and 12% are “thrilled,” about Robert Novak’s death. By contrast, the death of 60 Minutes creator Don Hewitt got a “100% sad” rating. Full screenshots after the jump:
Update: looks like NBC Washington was listening; they’ve taken down Novak’s obituary.

Human Events confirms that longtime conservative columnist and pundit Robert Novak has died at the age of 78. Novak was diagnosed with brain cancer last August, which prompted his retirement.

Novak’s column was syndicated by the Chicago Sun-Times for more than 40 years. In a moving obituary, the Sun-Times editorial board highlights the journalistic qualities that elevated Novak above the rest of the political commentariat: