Write for free!: Critical raves for the Huffington Post's Chicago début

New York Post, Page Six:

JOHN Cusack learned he should stick to acting with his first piece for the Huffington Post Chicago - which was "riddled with more errors than the 2006 Cubs," according to one blogger. Cusack, who was writing about his childhood as a fan of the Cubs, the White Sox, Michael Jordan and Walter Payton, managed to misspell the names of three Cubs players and of playwright Eugene O'Neill. Cusack also erroneously stated that Sammy Sosa played for the '89 Cubs. Finally, the "High Fidelity" star described taking the "express" train to Wrigley Field. There has never been an express to Wrigley. Cusack - whose last two movies, "Grace Is Gone" and "War, Inc.," were both anti-war bombs - also described how he would "scrape together $2.50" to go to a baseball game. "Cusack grew up in a massive house on Sheridan Road," said another reader of the Beachwood Reporter Web site. "It's slightly disingenuous to say he had to 'scrape' together $2.50. I'm thinking that wasn't an issue."

Gawker, in a piece called "Celebutards: John Cusack's Love Letter To Chicago Sports Is Worst Celebrity Blog Post Ever Written":

Last week the Say Anything actor and Hilary Duff mentor wrote a 732-word celebrity blog post commemorating the launch of Huffington Post Chicago -- hey wait I thought the internet meant the end of 'placeness'!? -- that contained somewhere between eight and infinity errors. Yeah, and it was about his childhood....

If no one at Huffington Post is reading this shit — at least not closely enough to catch a misspelling of the name Michael freaking Jordan — why are we expected to?

Defamer also has more.

Oh, well. At least Cusack didn't plagiarize it!

Comments

[Alan Cordle]

Reading this, I immediately thought of one of Cusack's earliest movies, Better Off Dead, and the famously repeated line: "I WANT MY TWO DOLLARS!"

[jeffrey]

If there's one thing I will never nail any blog post to the wall for it is misspelled words. However if you don't know what you're talking about.... well even there I thought there was some leeway. It certainly has never stopped me.

BTW: The regular starters for the 89 Cubs from memory (No Wikipedia I swear to freaking God)

C Joe Girardi
1B Mark Grace
2B Ryne Sandberg
3B Vance Law
SS Shawon Dunston
LF Dwight Smith (rookie)
CF Jerome Walton (NL Rookie of the Year)
RF Andre Dawson

P Greg Maddux, Scott Sanderson, Uh.... I think Mitch Williams was on that staff.

Okay that's all I got. How'd I do?

[Michelle]

I can totally forgive someone for misspelling words in a blog post. I can totally forgive someone for misspelling words who writes on a consistent basis. But when someone is asked to write one lousy special remembrance for a Website that is read by many people.... I mean, if I knew lots of people would be reading my piece, I would be very careful in checking spelling and facts -- wouldn't you? I guess it's appropriate Arianna Huffington got exactly what she paid for.

[Kevin]

Michelle, you're absolutely right. It's not a question of a typo or a tiny mistake; it's just sloppy writing, pushed forward by Huffington because it's got a celebrity name attached.

I'm waiting for the first example of some blatant conflict-of-interest -- a blogger writing about his sister-in-law's restaurant or some such -- being promoted on the Huffington Post. Or a piece that flirts with slander or libel. With this complete lack of editing or oversight, it's just a matter of time.

[Texas Triffid Ranch]

I believe this sort of article is referred to as "celebukkake".

[Samuel John Klein]

OMG. Can I unread that last comment?