Pajamahadeen
Encyclopedia
Pajamahadeen or Pajamahideen is a portmanteau of pajamas
and Mujahideen
meaning "blog
gers who challenge and fact-check traditional media" (according to The American Dialect Society
, which voted it the Most Creative word of 2004.http://www.americandialect.org/2004_Words_of_the_Year_Final_Vote_.pdf) The word refers to news blog
gers, suggesting their goals as overthrowing the news establishment. ("Mujahideen" comes from an Arabic
word referring to those who participate in jihad
; bloggers are said to work in their pajamas.)
It was coined during the Killian documents
controversy during the U.S. presidential election campaign of 2004, in which webloggers were derided by Jonathan Klein, a former CBS News
executive vice-president for vigorously challenging the accuracy of a 60 Minutes
story by CBS anchor Dan Rather
. Klein is reported as saying, "You couldn't have a starker contrast between the multiple layers of check and balances (at CBS), and a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas writing." Webloggers who were pursuing the story such as Little Green Footballs
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=12526&onlyhttp://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=12615&only, Power Line
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/007770.php, and Jim Geraghty
at National Review Onlinehttp://tks.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NTc3YmE5ZGQ1NmY1MjNiZmZhNDkzYjY0NzgzMDQ4NmE= took this insult and turned it into a variety of humorous self-deprecating descriptions of their form of online activism. As Andrew Sullivan
noted in response to Klein's remarks: "Actually, I'm in sweatpants and a tanktop. But of course, it doesn't matter a jot what a fact-checker is wearing as long as his facts are correct. CBS's apparently aren't."http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?pt=ojT4kAHMxYif0J12sUAH8B%3D%3D
Pajamas
Pajamas, also spelled pyjamas , can refer to several related types of clothing. The original paijama are loose, lightweight trousers fitted with drawstring waistbands and worn in South and West Asia by both sexes...
and Mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
meaning "blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
gers who challenge and fact-check traditional media" (according to The American Dialect Society
American Dialect Society
The American Dialect Society, founded in 1889, is a learned society "dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other languages, influencing it or influenced by it." The Society publishes the academic journal, American Speech...
, which voted it the Most Creative word of 2004.http://www.americandialect.org/2004_Words_of_the_Year_Final_Vote_.pdf) The word refers to news blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
gers, suggesting their goals as overthrowing the news establishment. ("Mujahideen" comes from an Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
word referring to those who participate in jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
; bloggers are said to work in their pajamas.)
It was coined during the Killian documents
Killian documents
The Killian documents controversy involved six documents critical of President George W. Bush's service in the Air National Guard in 1972–73...
controversy during the U.S. presidential election campaign of 2004, in which webloggers were derided by Jonathan Klein, a former CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
executive vice-president for vigorously challenging the accuracy of a 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
story by CBS anchor Dan Rather
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9,...
. Klein is reported as saying, "You couldn't have a starker contrast between the multiple layers of check and balances (at CBS), and a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas writing." Webloggers who were pursuing the story such as Little Green Footballs
Little Green Footballs
Little Green Footballs is an American political blog run by web designer Charles Johnson.Media observers in the United States long described the site as "right wing", but since 2007, the site's emphasis has changed, such that "LGF has become better known for the various fights it picks with many...
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=12526&onlyhttp://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=12615&only, Power Line
Power Line
Power Line is an American political blog, providing news and commentary from a conservative point-of-view. It was originally written by three lawyers who attended Dartmouth College together: John H. Hinderaker, Scott W. Johnson, and Paul Mirengoff...
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/007770.php, and Jim Geraghty
Jim Geraghty
Jim Geraghty is a conservative blogger and regular contributor to National Review Online and National Review. In addition to writing columns for National Review, Geraghty also blogs for National Review Online and is a former reporter for States News Service.During the 2004 US Presidential election,...
at National Review Onlinehttp://tks.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NTc3YmE5ZGQ1NmY1MjNiZmZhNDkzYjY0NzgzMDQ4NmE= took this insult and turned it into a variety of humorous self-deprecating descriptions of their form of online activism. As Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Michael Sullivan is an English author, editor, political commentator and blogger. He describes himself as a political conservative. He has focused on American political life....
noted in response to Klein's remarks: "Actually, I'm in sweatpants and a tanktop. But of course, it doesn't matter a jot what a fact-checker is wearing as long as his facts are correct. CBS's apparently aren't."http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?pt=ojT4kAHMxYif0J12sUAH8B%3D%3D
External links
- "A Communique to the Pajamahadeen" by Jim GeraghtyJim GeraghtyJim Geraghty is a conservative blogger and regular contributor to National Review Online and National Review. In addition to writing columns for National Review, Geraghty also blogs for National Review Online and is a former reporter for States News Service.During the 2004 US Presidential election,...
, National Review Online, September 9, 2004 - "What is...Pajamahadeen?" by Oliver KammOliver KammOliver Kamm is a British writer and journalist. He wrote Anti-Totalitarianism: The Left-wing Case for a Neoconservative Foreign Policy , an advocacy of interventionism in foreign policy....
, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, November 27, 2004 - "Jonathan Klein changes his mind about the Pajamahadeen" by Jim GeraghtyJim GeraghtyJim Geraghty is a conservative blogger and regular contributor to National Review Online and National Review. In addition to writing columns for National Review, Geraghty also blogs for National Review Online and is a former reporter for States News Service.During the 2004 US Presidential election,...
, National Review Online, March 21, 2005 - "It's not about Old Media versus the Pajamahideen" by Jon UdellJon udellJon Udell is an "Evangelist" at Microsoft. Previously he was lead analyst for the Infoworld Test Center.Udell is author of Practical Internet Groupware, published in 1999 by O'Reilly Media, and is an advisor to O'Reilly's Safari Tech Books Online. He wrote the column "Tangled in the Threads" for...
, InfoWorldInfoWorldInfoWorld is an information technology online media and events business operating under the umbrella of InfoWorld Media Group, a division of IDG...
, May 24, 2005.