Profile Post: BuzzMachine’s Jeff Jarvis
Jeff Jarvis is not your average journalist, which means BuzzMachine is not your average blog.
In addition to being a professor and director of New York University’s graduate center for Entrepreneurial Journalism, Jarvis advises media companies, startups, and foundations. A jack-of-all-trades, naturally, he is also a highly sought after public speaker and author of three critical theory books on new media. In his professional career, Jarvis has left his imprint on countless publications as a reporter, editor, or publisher—including Entertainment Weekly, Chicago Tribune, and New York Daily News. As a consultant, Jarvis has been employed by nearly every major media mogul out there: Hearst, Time Warner, Advance, NewsCorp…the list of his media ties goes on and on.
In short, his journalistic resume makes him a big fucking deal. This is the smirk of a man who knows what he’s about and is confident in the ability to wield the power of words. Just look at it.
Jarvis’ popular weblog BuzzMachine tracks developments in new media trends and chronicles some of his personal obsessions as an industry insider. Some of his most notable posts have been centered on the fortunes of radio host Howard Stern and his negative experiences in dealing with Dell’s online customer support system. Most recently, he has written posts such as congratulating Americans on successfully vanquishing Infowars from streaming platforms and reacting to the viral CNN fight between New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and media correspondent Brian Stelter.
It is clear that Jarvis thoroughly understands his unique role as a former member of the media and now a digital content producer of political hot takes. The “About Me” section on his site reflects his attempts to be transparent as it contains a comprehensive list of his business ties, media outlet ties, stock holdings, religious views, and ideological leanings. He covers all his bases, leaving nothing to the imagination and nothing to chance, understanding how delicately he must toe his dual position of unbiased journalist and political provocateur.
Jeff Jarvis—a character through and through—thrives on sarcasm, wit, and not giving a damn if you’re offended by his opinions. Again, his smirk says it all.
As a writer, Jarvis is bold and unapologetic. He employs UPPERCASE and bold lettering to convey passion and emphasis, underscoring the severity of the topics he discusses and the weight of the opinions he holds. He does not shy away from cursing if it helps him make his point. For the most part, his blogs read like newspaper editorials merged with news briefs—except on steroids and without rules. Rather uncommon for a journalist, Jarvis writes in the first person and directly addresses his audience. His tone is theatrical in small doses and colloquial, rendering it understandable and relatable to most of the public.
One of my favorite Jarvis sentences is the opening line of his Infowars post: “You did it, O, you denizens of social media, you sharers of cats, you time-wasters, you.” Rife with references to internet practices and meme culture, Jarvis proves his ability to empathize with the masses as well as his lightheartedness in addressing such a heavy piece of breaking news. Even though he playfully denigrates his readers, at the same time, his expertise on the matter is obvious and makes him instantly respectable and credible.
Jarvis’ loyal readers and thoughtful commenters are a further testament to his relevance and cleverness. Regardless of whether they agree or disagree, comments tend to be lengthy, thoughtful, and often addresses specific points in Jarvis’ argument. It is clear that BuzzMachine serves as an open platform on which Jarvis can have dialogues with the members of the public he serves in his profession. Here, he exists not as a didactic journalist but as an equal counterpart, a concerned citizen, a fellow free thinker. Somehow, he strikes a perfect balance between the two personas so that readers are simultaneously impressed by his expertise and eager to engage in debate because of his commonness.
All in all, Jarvis is a ruthless purveyor of the truth and original commentary who commands, and deserves, tremendous respect through his words alone. With BuzzMachine, political punditry and hot takes become Jarvis’ second language and his fluency in being both scathing and hopeful is well developed. I, for one, am awe-inspired.
