You can’t make this stuff up. From the Washington Post, the employer of the most ethically challenged bunch of pundits and bloggers this side of Pravda:
This is a contest aimed at people who’ve read a column in a newspaper or watched a talking head on TV and thought: “Hey, I could do that.” It’s for people who may already regularly voice their opinions — but wouldn’t mind a bigger audience. It’s for people who want to influence the national debate.
If you’re one of those people, then this is your chance to put your opinions to the test — and win an opportunity to write for The Washington Post and launch your opinionating career.
Start making your case.
We’ll accept entries as soon as the online entry form goes live on Sept. 20, 2010 at 12:01 p.m. ET. Use the form to send us a short opinion essay (400-word limit) pegged to a topic in the news and an additional paragraph (100-word limit) on yourself and why you should win. Entry deadline: Oct. 1, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Post editors will pick the top 50 entries on the basis of style, intelligence and freshness of argument (but not on whether we agree or disagree with your point of view). And then we’ll be looking to readers to help us narrow the field to ten finalists.
How pathetic is this?
Get ready for the great debate.
Beginning on or about Oct. 18, our finalists will face off in challenges that test the skills a modern pundit must possess. They’ll have to write on deadline, hold their own on video and take questions — and criticism — from Post readers. (Contestants won’t have to quit their day jobs, but they should be prepared to put in about eight hours of work a week for two weeks.) After each round, a panel of Post personalities will offer kudos and catcalls, and reader votes will help to determine who gets another chance at a byline and who has to shut down their laptops.
And if you win?
The title fight.
The ultimate winner will get to claim the title of America’s Next Great Pundit and to sign a three-month contract with The Post. Our Opinions lineup includes a dozen Pulitzer Prize winners, regulars on the national political talk shows and some of the most influential players inside the Beltway. We look forward to bringing a new voice — someone who will contribute weekly columns and occasional blog posts — into that mix and to providing a platform from which our promising pundit can make his or her opinions heard.
So what are you waiting for? Start crafting your entry now.
Well… what are you waiting for?
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