We Want Media

When the New York Times announced its plan to hold a contest for college students to win a trip with Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Nick Kristof, more than a few people scratched their heads. And one, Michael Kinsley, Washington Post columnist and Slate's founding editor, lampooned the idea in a satirical column. But is this really such a ridiculous idea? Of course it is!

It's an amazing one, too. Not that I would be particularly keen on traveling with Kristof, but the idea of idolizing and celebri-tizing newspaper columnists is nothing short of amazing (and confusing). It’s about time that some of America’s best minds, long banished to the back pages of Section A, are getting the recognition they deserve.

God willing, the trend doesn’t stop here. The Times should expand its columnist prostitution to the fiery Maureen Dowd. Then the trend should spread to the internet. A weekend in Aspen with Jim Romenesko! Sweet! How about six days and seven nights on a tropical beach with Amanda Congdon? Where do I sign up?

This is one more step in the age of the meta-celebrity. No longer do contests offer the chance to hang out with the news makers, now it is the news reporters. Next, the guy who runs the printing press in New Jersey.