Pajamas Media
Encyclopedia
PJ Media is a media company that uses the Internet
to present and comment on the news.
Founded in 2004 by a network primarily, but not exclusively, made up of conservatives and libertarians led by mystery writer, screenwriter, and blog
ger Roger L. Simon
, and until 2007, Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs
, it was originally intended as a forum to present blogs and blog advertising "with the intention of... aggregating blogs to increase corporate advertising and creating our own professional news service." On March 31, 2009, PJ Media discontinued its advertising network of blogs, with the exception of those inside of its primary Website, in favor of establishing its own multimedia news and opinion outlets branching out from the original Pajamas Media.com. In 2007, PJM Political, an hour-long satellite radio show, was launched airing first on XM Radio and then on Sirius-XM. In 2008 PJ Media launched an internet TV initiative called PJTV.com.
PJ Media's name, formerly Pajamas Media, is derived from a dismissive comment made by former news executive vice-president Jonathan Klein of CBS
during the Killian documents
affair involving then-CBS anchorman Dan Rather
in the fall of 2004: "You couldn't have a starker contrast between the multiple layers of checks and balances at 60 Minutes
and a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas". The official name of the company is OSM Media, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company
, qualified to do business in California as OSM Media, LLC, and it does business under DBAs of PJ Media and PJTV.
following the Killian documents controversy
, also known as "Rathergate", Charles Johnson
, the blogger behind Little Green Footballs, teamed up with Roger L. Simon
to create PJ Media. Johnson and Simon set out with the goal of replacing the mainstream media with a network of citizen-journalists
.
According to Simon, PJ Media was founded in order to take advantage of the "immediacy" unique to citizen journalism
. He told the New York Sun
, "Our affiliates will have a physical proximity, language and cultural knowledge" that traditional media do not enjoy. Responding to criticism of PJ Media and blogs in general, Glenn Reynolds
, then an advisor to PJ Media, said, "...it is a tired cliche that because there won't be newspaper editors at PJM, somehow the product will be diminished. We do not need four of five layers of editors to screw this up like they have at the L.A. Times."
The name "Pajamas Media" is a reference to "Pajamahadeen" a portmanteau of pajamas
and Mujahideen
meaning "bloggers 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 suggest that bloggers have the goal of overthrowing the established media. The term 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
PJ Media completed its first round of venture capital
funding on November 14, 2005. Pajamas used this investment to fund its operations and marketing while expanding its news and opinion coverage. Investors in this round of financing included Aubrey Chernick, an angel investor
and technology entrepreneur, James Koshland, a venture capitalist, and a partnership formed by DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary.
For a time in the fall of 2005, the company was known as Open Source Media. Its launch and official rebranding as Open Source Media took place November 16, 2005. Launch festivities included a keynote address by former New York Times journalist Judith Miller
, along with presentations from John Podhoretz
of Commentary magazine, Andrew Breitbart
of Breitbart.com, the Drudge Report and the Huffington Post, Elizabeth Hayt of the New York Times, David Corn
of The Nation, and others. Less than a week after its official launch Open Source Media changed its name back to the original Pajamas Media after discovering that Public Radio International
distributed a radio show called "Open Source" produced by Open Source Media, Inc.
In 2007, co-founder Charles Johnson sold his stake in PJ Media after growing increasingly disillusioned with the direction Pajamas Media was going, likening it to World Net Daily.
In October of 2011 Pajamas Media changed its name to PJ Media. In a press release announcing the name change PJ Media CEO Roger L. Simon said, "“This evolution of our brand ushers PJ Media into a new era. We saw that people were worried that their rights and freedoms were deteriorating, and the next generation was going to be shackled with massive government debt. We heard people’s concerns about how the country was moving away from its founding principles and watched as Tea Party activists and others protested these changes. It was clear that the time had come to shed our pajamas, change our name to PJ Media, and renew our commitment to the issues of freedom and liberty.”
, which housed the convention. Since then, the online TV service has featured interviews with former GOP senator Fred Thompson, former Australian Prime Minister John Howard
, and numerous pundits and authors.
PJTV has several satellite studios including a facility inside the Washington DC offices of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
. The satellite facilities transmit high definition video via broadband to main PJTV studio in Los Angeles. There, several Pajamas Media affiliated bloggers do double-duty as show hosts and on-air pundits, in addition to PJTV-exclusive personalities, such as Alfonzo Rachel and Steven Crowder, who frequently specialize in right-leaning comedic sketches and video parodies. Pajamas CEO Roger L. Simon co-hosts a weekly series on the intersection of Hollywood and politics called "Poliwood", along with fellow screenwriter, Lionel Chetwynd
. Another weekly series is "InstaVision," hosted by pioneering blogger Glenn Reynolds
, based in Knoxville, Tennessee
, of the Pajamas Media-affiliated Instapundit.com.
, President of the Ayn Rand
Center for Individual Rights, and Terry Jones
, Associate Editor of Investor's Business Daily
are regular guests.
During the 2008 presidential campaign PJ Media conducted weekly online straw polls. PJ Media decided on weekly straw polls in order to address some of the problems that make it possible for campaigns to manipulate online polling. Roger Simon said, "Online polls have gotten a bad rap and, in some cases, deservedly so. By continuously allowing people to weigh in we believe the true picture of the races will quickly take shape and we will be able to provide the public with consistent, accurate snapshots of where the races are and the trends that are emerging."
.
movement in the United States. In August of 2010, PJ Media launched a tracking poll to study the Tea Party movement in depth. Pajamas Media also created a show hosted by Vik Rubenfeld called Tea Party TV. Roger L. Simon said, "Inspired by the actions of our Founding Fathers, members of the Tea Party movement have circumvented the Mainstream Media and have taken their grievances directly to the people. As we approach the upcoming election, the Tea Party's influence is yet unknown, but by tracking and reporting nationwide attitudes toward the movement, we hope to better calculate the strength and power of this truly American movement."
After former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for opponents of the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque" to be investigated Roger L. Simon called for a congressional investigation into what he described as censorship of discussions of Islam among law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Simon said, "Given these new circumstances, I would like to renew my call for a congressional investigation. In addition to the original request which urged Congress to investigate the possible censorship of Islamic terminology among government workers, I would like to request an examination of whether freedom of speech on similar matters is potentially being restricted - intentionally or unintentionally - by members of Congress."
The institute is leading the "Maxed Out America" and the "National Economic Rescue Initiative" campaigns.
, analyzed U.S. government data to determine when the U.S. government might cease to be able to finance its deficits. Using the Congressional Budget Office
's (CBO) long- and short-term forecasts, the institute was able to identify the year in which the financial condition of the United States might "go critical."
of Boston University
, Thomas Saving of Texas A&M, and Edward Stringham of Fayetteville State University
, working with developers at the PJ Institute.
Kotlikoff, the head of the project, said, "The American Dream is being turned in a nightmare by uncontrolled federal spending leading to skyrocketing levels of federal debt. The PFI Projector is a marvelous educational tool that helps us gain a deeper understanding of our country's deteriorating fiscal and economic condition. Millions of Americans are extremely concerned about the problem. But the official deficit and debt numbers as well as the unofficial future spending obligations are so large, it's tough to grasp them, let alone relate them to one's own finances. With the PFI Projector, Americans clearly see the direct connection between government spending levels and America's impending insolvency. They also see that the failure to control federal spending will personally cost them and their children in terms of dramatically higher future tax rates."
. Frank, a former colonel in the SS, played a key role in authorizing the killing of Europe's Jews. The investigation led to a lawsuit against Frank accusing him of genocide, torture, kidnapping, and crimes against humanity.
As of March 2011 Roger L. Simon is the CEO of PJ Media. He is the author of numerous books including the prize-winning Moses Wine series of detective novels, and six screenplays, including “Enemies: A Love Story." He served as president of the West Coast branch of PEN and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America. Simon was on the faculty of the American Film Institute
and the Sundance Institute
. He is an alumnus Dartmouth College
and the Yale School of Drama
. Simon is a co-founder of Pajamas Media.
companies including Bank of America
. Rozanski holds and undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina
and an MBA from the University of Southern California
.
with a a degree in economics. His writing has been published in the Los Angeles Times
, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Orange Country Register.
, Glenn Reynolds
, CNBC's Larry Kudlow, Michael Barone
of U.S. News & World Report
, David Corn
of The Nation, and Claudia Rosett
(who helped investigate the United Nations
' "Oil for Food" controversy).
and screenwriter
of "tough-guy" mysteries
and psychological thriller
s. Two of Klavan's books have been adapted into motion pictures: True Crime
(1999) and Don't Say A Word
(2001). He has been nominated for the Edgar Award
four times and has won twice. Playwright and novelist Laurence Klavan is his brother.Klavan has been a regular contributor of short, witty video commentaries under the general title "Klavan on Culture", posted at PJTV.com
. He also became a contributor to the center-right social networking and blogging Web site Ricochet.com on May 17, 2010.
perspective and often focuses on demographic and economic factors in his analyses. He says his subject matter proceeds "from the theme formulated by Rosenzweig
: the mortality of nations and its causes, Western secularism, Asian anomie, and unadaptable Islam
."
is a military historian, columnist
, political essayist and former classics
professor, notable as a scholar of ancient warfare
. In addition to his work for Pajamas Media Hanson has been a commentator on modern warfare and contemporary politics for National Review
and other media outlets. He was for many years a professor of classics at California State University, Fresno
, and is currently the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution
. Hanson was awarded the National Humanities Medal
in 2007, the Claremont Institute's Statesmanship Award at its annual Churchill Dinner, and the $250,000 Bradley prize from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation in 2008. Hanson is also a farmer (growing raisin
grapes on a family farm near Fresno, California
) and a critic of social trends related to farming and agrarianism
.
. He is a former consultant to the United States National Security Council
, the United States Department of State
, and the United States Department of Defense
. He has also served as a special adviser to the United States Secretary of State
. He held the Freedom Scholar chair at the American Enterprise Institute
where he was a scholar for twenty years and now holds the similarly named chair at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
. He is a contributing editor to National Review
, contributes to the Wall Street Journal, and regularly appears on Fox News and on a variety of radio talk shows. He has been on PBS's NewsHour
and CNN's Larry King Live
, among others. Ledeen regularly blogs for PJ Media.
, professor
, historian
, former Marxist, and neoconservative. He is known for his work on the Cold War
espionage
case of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and his advocacy of the state of Israel. Radosh co-authored the book, "A Safe Haven: Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel", with his wife.
Glenn Reynolds, a law professor at the University of Tennessee
, is best known for Instapundit
, one of the most widely read American political weblogs.
and author
. He graduated from Yale University
in 1968 and won a Carnegie Fellowship to attend Yale's graduate program in English Literature
, though he dropped out after taking one course. He wrote for The Village Voice
for several years, leaving in 1975 after which he wrote for Esquire
, Harper's, High Times, Vanity Fair
, New York Times Magazine and Slate
. Rosenbaum spent more than ten years doing research on Adolf Hitler
including travels to Vienna
, Munich
, London
, Paris
, and Jerusalem, interviewing leading historian
s, philosophers, biographers, theologians and psychologist
s. Some of those interviewed by Rosenbaum included Daniel Goldhagen
, David Irving
, Rudolph Binion, Claude Lanzmann
, Hugh Trevor-Roper, Alan Bullock
, Christopher Browning
, George Steiner
, and Yehuda Bauer
. The result was his 1998 book, Explaining Hitler: The Search for the Origins of His Evil
.
is journalist-in-residence at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a policy institute based in Washington, D.C. A former staff writer for The Wall Street Journal
, she writes a weekly column for Forbes
, blog
s for PJ Media, and makes guest appearances on television and radio.
(IDC) in Herzliya
, Israel
, the director of the Israel
-based Global Research in International Affairs Center (GLORIA) of the IDC, and a senior fellow at the Interdisciplinary Center's International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism
. He is also Research Director of the IDC's Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy; the editor of the journal Turkish Studies; the editor of The Middle East Review of International Affairs
(MERIA); a member of the editorial board of Middle East Quarterly
. He blogs regularly at Rubin Reports for Pajamas Media.
, The New York Times
, City Journal, the New York Daily News, The Jerusalem Post
, the Daily Star
of Lebanon
, Reason
magazine, Commentary
, LA Weekly
, Front Page, Tech Central Station, and the Australian edition of Newsweek
. Totten's first book, The Road to Fatima Gate: The Beirut Spring, the Rise of Hezbollah, and the Iranian War Against Israel, reports his experiences in the Middle East, primarily Lebanon.
feeds from the other. Andrew Breitbart
said, "Some call them bloggers, but to me Pajamas Media are reliable and compelling first-responders to real time world events as they occur. I am proud to now be featuring PJM's exceptional news content at Breitbart.com."
In January of 2008 PJ Media announced that they were working with Vividas
, a company specializing in streaming video technology, to bring viewers high-quality news coverage in full-screen, high-definition video. Vividas' streaming technology ensures a smooth and enjoyable viewing experience without the need for any dedicated video player software.
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
to present and comment on the news.
Founded in 2004 by a network primarily, but not exclusively, made up of conservatives and libertarians led by mystery writer, screenwriter, and 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...
ger Roger L. Simon
Roger L. Simon
Roger Lichtenberg Simon is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is currently CEO of Pajamas Media. He is the author of ten novels, including the Moses Wine detective series, and six screenplays...
, and until 2007, Charles Johnson of 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...
, it was originally intended as a forum to present blogs and blog advertising "with the intention of... aggregating blogs to increase corporate advertising and creating our own professional news service." On March 31, 2009, PJ Media discontinued its advertising network of blogs, with the exception of those inside of its primary Website, in favor of establishing its own multimedia news and opinion outlets branching out from the original Pajamas Media.com. In 2007, PJM Political, an hour-long satellite radio show, was launched airing first on XM Radio and then on Sirius-XM. In 2008 PJ Media launched an internet TV initiative called PJTV.com.
PJ Media's name, formerly Pajamas Media, is derived from a dismissive comment made by former news executive vice-president Jonathan Klein of CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
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...
affair involving then-CBS anchorman 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,...
in the fall of 2004: "You couldn't have a starker contrast between the multiple layers of checks and balances at 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....
and a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas". The official name of the company is OSM Media, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company
Limited liability company
A limited liability company is a flexible form of enterprise that blends elements of partnership and corporate structures. It is a legal form of company that provides limited liability to its owners in the vast majority of United States jurisdictions...
, qualified to do business in California as OSM Media, LLC, and it does business under DBAs of PJ Media and PJTV.
History
Shortly after helping to end the career of Dan RatherDan 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,...
following the Killian documents controversy
Killian documents controversy
The Killian documents controversy involved six documents critical of President George W. Bush's service in the Air National Guard in 1972–73...
, also known as "Rathergate", Charles Johnson
Charles Johnson
Charles Johnson, Charlie Johnson, Charley Johnson or Chuck Johnson may refer to:-American public officials:*Charles Johnson , Democratic-Republican who represented 8th congressional district, 1801–1802...
, the blogger behind Little Green Footballs, teamed up with Roger L. Simon
Roger L. Simon
Roger Lichtenberg Simon is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is currently CEO of Pajamas Media. He is the author of ten novels, including the Moses Wine detective series, and six screenplays...
to create PJ Media. Johnson and Simon set out with the goal of replacing the mainstream media with a network of citizen-journalists
Citizen journalism
Citizen journalism is the concept of members of the public "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information," according to the seminal 2003 report We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information...
.
According to Simon, PJ Media was founded in order to take advantage of the "immediacy" unique to citizen journalism
Citizen journalism
Citizen journalism is the concept of members of the public "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information," according to the seminal 2003 report We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information...
. He told the New York Sun
New York Sun
The New York Sun was a weekday daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 to 2008. When it debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of an otherwise unrelated earlier New York paper, The Sun , it became the first general-interest broadsheet newspaper to be started...
, "Our affiliates will have a physical proximity, language and cultural knowledge" that traditional media do not enjoy. Responding to criticism of PJ Media and blogs in general, Glenn Reynolds
Glenn Reynolds
Glenn Harlan Reynolds is Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee, and is best known for his weblog, Instapundit, one of the most widely read American political weblogs...
, then an advisor to PJ Media, said, "...it is a tired cliche that because there won't be newspaper editors at PJM, somehow the product will be diminished. We do not need four of five layers of editors to screw this up like they have at the L.A. Times."
The name "Pajamas Media" is a reference to "Pajamahadeen" a portmanteau of pajamas
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 "bloggers 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 suggest that bloggers have the goal of overthrowing the established media. The term 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
PJ Media completed its first round of venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
funding on November 14, 2005. Pajamas used this investment to fund its operations and marketing while expanding its news and opinion coverage. Investors in this round of financing included Aubrey Chernick, an angel investor
Angel investor
An angel investor or angel is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity...
and technology entrepreneur, James Koshland, a venture capitalist, and a partnership formed by DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary.
For a time in the fall of 2005, the company was known as Open Source Media. Its launch and official rebranding as Open Source Media took place November 16, 2005. Launch festivities included a keynote address by former New York Times journalist Judith Miller
Judith Miller (journalist)
Judith Miller is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, formerly of the New York Times Washington bureau. Her coverage of Iraq's alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction program both before and after the 2003 invasion generated much controversy...
, along with presentations from John Podhoretz
John Podhoretz
John Podhoretz is an American neoconservative columnist for the New York Post, the editor of Commentary magazine, the author of several books on politics, and a former presidential speechwriter.-Life and career:...
of Commentary magazine, Andrew Breitbart
Andrew Breitbart
Andrew Breitbart is an American publisher, commentator for the Washington Times, author, an occasional guest commentator on various news programs who has served as an editor for the Drudge Report website...
of Breitbart.com, the Drudge Report and the Huffington Post, Elizabeth Hayt of the New York Times, David Corn
David Corn
David Corn is an American political journalist and author and the chief of the Washington bureau for Mother Jones. He has been Washington editor for The Nation and appeared regularly on FOX News, MSNBC, National Public Radio, and BloggingHeads.tv opposite James Pinkerton or other media...
of The Nation, and others. Less than a week after its official launch Open Source Media changed its name back to the original Pajamas Media after discovering that Public Radio International
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
distributed a radio show called "Open Source" produced by Open Source Media, Inc.
In 2007, co-founder Charles Johnson sold his stake in PJ Media after growing increasingly disillusioned with the direction Pajamas Media was going, likening it to World Net Daily.
In October of 2011 Pajamas Media changed its name to PJ Media. In a press release announcing the name change PJ Media CEO Roger L. Simon said, "“This evolution of our brand ushers PJ Media into a new era. We saw that people were worried that their rights and freedoms were deteriorating, and the next generation was going to be shackled with massive government debt. We heard people’s concerns about how the country was moving away from its founding principles and watched as Tea Party activists and others protested these changes. It was clear that the time had come to shed our pajamas, change our name to PJ Media, and renew our commitment to the issues of freedom and liberty.”
PJTV
In the summer of 2008, PJ Media launched PJTV.com, its high definition, subscription-based Internet television service. The Internet TV "channel" debuted at the 2008 Republican convention, where PJTV had a broadcasting booth inside of Minneapolis’s Xcel Energy CenterXcel Energy Center
The Xcel Energy Center is a multi-purpose arena located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is named for its locally-based corporate sponsor Xcel Energy. With an official capacity of 18,064, the arena has four spectator levels: one suite level and three general seating levels. The arena is owned by the...
, which housed the convention. Since then, the online TV service has featured interviews with former GOP senator Fred Thompson, former Australian Prime Minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
, and numerous pundits and authors.
PJTV has several satellite studios including a facility inside the Washington DC offices of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies describes itself as a non-profit, non-partisan policy institute "working to defend free nations against their enemies". It was founded shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks to address what it regards as the "threat facing America, Israel and the...
. The satellite facilities transmit high definition video via broadband to main PJTV studio in Los Angeles. There, several Pajamas Media affiliated bloggers do double-duty as show hosts and on-air pundits, in addition to PJTV-exclusive personalities, such as Alfonzo Rachel and Steven Crowder, who frequently specialize in right-leaning comedic sketches and video parodies. Pajamas CEO Roger L. Simon co-hosts a weekly series on the intersection of Hollywood and politics called "Poliwood", along with fellow screenwriter, Lionel Chetwynd
Lionel Chetwynd
Lionel Chetwynd is a London-born Canadian-American screenwriter, motion picture and television film director and producer.-Life and career:...
. Another weekly series is "InstaVision," hosted by pioneering blogger Glenn Reynolds
Glenn Reynolds
Glenn Harlan Reynolds is Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee, and is best known for his weblog, Instapundit, one of the most widely read American political weblogs...
, based in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, of the Pajamas Media-affiliated Instapundit.com.
Afterburner with Bill Whittle
In this program Bill Whittle challenges conventional wisdom about politics and society from a conservative perspective. The show makes extensive use of history and often focuses on difficult ethical questions.Front Page with Allen Barton
Front Page features commentary on current events from Allen Barton and a panel of experts. The show has an emphasis on business and economics. Yaron BrookYaron Brook
Yaron Brook is an intellectual and political activist, and is the current president and executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute, a non-profit organization in Irvine, California, whose mission is to promote the novels of Ayn Rand and her philosophy of Objectivism.-Early life in Israel:Brook...
, President of the Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
Center for Individual Rights, and Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
, Associate Editor of Investor's Business Daily
Investor's Business Daily
Investor's Business Daily is a national newspaper in the United States, published Monday through Friday, that covers international business, finance, and the global economy...
are regular guests.
Kruiser Control
Kruiser Control is a weekly examination of popular, obscure, and disturbing video clips by stand-up comedian Stephen Kruiser.Tea Party TV
PJTV has been reporting on the tea party movement since February 2009, including the Tax Day Tea Parties that have defined and shaped the movement. PJTV has focused on the formation of new Tea Party groups, Tea Party activity inside the Republican and Libertarian parties, emerging leaders, issues being pushed by the Tea Party movement, and critical examination of media coverage given to Tea Party groups.Trifecta
On Trifecta Vodkapundit blogger Stephen Green, ScrappleFace.com editor, Scott Ott, and Afterburner host, Bill Whittle comment on current events.PJmedia.com
PJmedia.com provides news, commentary, and analysis via text, streaming video, and podcasts.During the 2008 presidential campaign PJ Media conducted weekly online straw polls. PJ Media decided on weekly straw polls in order to address some of the problems that make it possible for campaigns to manipulate online polling. Roger Simon said, "Online polls have gotten a bad rap and, in some cases, deservedly so. By continuously allowing people to weigh in we believe the true picture of the races will quickly take shape and we will be able to provide the public with consistent, accurate snapshots of where the races are and the trends that are emerging."
PJM Political
Concurrent with the launch of the Sirius-XM’s POTUS channel (short for Politics of the United States) in the fall of 2007, Pajamas Media debuted PJM Political, a weekly series on that channel, whose guests have included most of the 2008 Republican presidential candidates, representatives from the two chief Democratic presidential candidates, and, in a telephone interview from Baghdad, General David PetraeusDavid Petraeus
David Howell Petraeus is the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sworn in on September 6, 2011. Prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus was a four-star general serving over 37 years in the United States Army. His last assignments in the Army were as commander...
.
Iraq war
In December of 2005 PJ Media teamed up with its affiliate blog "Iraq the Model" and numerous other Iraqi reporters and bloggers to provide comprehensive coverage of the war in Iraq. PJ provided text reports, video, and still photography from eight provinces PJ Media provided equipment, technical support, and financial assistance to its Iraqi partners. Roger Simon said, "By any standard, the Iraqi election is historic, and the opportunity to provide additional insight is a privilege. We are honored by the efforts of our affiliates, and by the commitment of bloggers and citizen journalists everywhere, without whom none of this is even conceivable."Tea Party
PJ Media has extensively covered the rise of the Tea PartyTea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
movement in the United States. In August of 2010, PJ Media launched a tracking poll to study the Tea Party movement in depth. Pajamas Media also created a show hosted by Vik Rubenfeld called Tea Party TV. Roger L. Simon said, "Inspired by the actions of our Founding Fathers, members of the Tea Party movement have circumvented the Mainstream Media and have taken their grievances directly to the people. As we approach the upcoming election, the Tea Party's influence is yet unknown, but by tracking and reporting nationwide attitudes toward the movement, we hope to better calculate the strength and power of this truly American movement."
Islamic-oriented censorship
PJTV has taken a leading role in covering what many conservatives see as pro-Islamic censorship by the American government. In an April 2010 report PJTV showed how the federal government removed references to Islam from the report on the Fort Hood massacre and other national security documents.After former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for opponents of the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque" to be investigated Roger L. Simon called for a congressional investigation into what he described as censorship of discussions of Islam among law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Simon said, "Given these new circumstances, I would like to renew my call for a congressional investigation. In addition to the original request which urged Congress to investigate the possible censorship of Islamic terminology among government workers, I would like to request an examination of whether freedom of speech on similar matters is potentially being restricted - intentionally or unintentionally - by members of Congress."
PJ Institute
The PJ Institute is the research and education arm of PJ Media. The PJ Institute provides detailed information in a variety of areas including the economy, personal finance, and history.The institute is leading the "Maxed Out America" and the "National Economic Rescue Initiative" campaigns.
Maxed Out America
For its Maxed Out America initiative, the PJ Institute's consulting economist, Laurence KotlikoffLaurence Kotlikoff
Laurence Jacob Kotlikoff is a William Warren FairField Professor at Boston University, a Professor of Economics at Boston University, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a...
, analyzed U.S. government data to determine when the U.S. government might cease to be able to finance its deficits. Using the Congressional Budget Office
Congressional Budget Office
The Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides economic data to Congress....
's (CBO) long- and short-term forecasts, the institute was able to identify the year in which the financial condition of the United States might "go critical."
National Economic Rescue Initiative
The National Economic Rescue Initiative (NERI) is a campaign to show Americans how they might be impacted financially by deficit spending and public debt. The initiative's web-based Personal Financial Impact (PFI) Prjoector allows users to estimate their future taxes they may owe in order to keep the nation's debt-to-GDP ratio under 90 percent. The PFI Projector also allows users to model spending cuts to entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, defense, and other spending. The app allows users to share their recommendations for cutting the budget through NERI's website.The PFI Projector was developed by economists Laurence KotlikoffLaurence Kotlikoff
Laurence Jacob Kotlikoff is a William Warren FairField Professor at Boston University, a Professor of Economics at Boston University, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a...
of Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, Thomas Saving of Texas A&M, and Edward Stringham of Fayetteville State University
Fayetteville State University
Fayetteville State University is a historically black, regional university located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States. FSU is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina System and is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.-Academics:The primary...
, working with developers at the PJ Institute.
Kotlikoff, the head of the project, said, "The American Dream is being turned in a nightmare by uncontrolled federal spending leading to skyrocketing levels of federal debt. The PFI Projector is a marvelous educational tool that helps us gain a deeper understanding of our country's deteriorating fiscal and economic condition. Millions of Americans are extremely concerned about the problem. But the official deficit and debt numbers as well as the unofficial future spending obligations are so large, it's tough to grasp them, let alone relate them to one's own finances. With the PFI Projector, Americans clearly see the direct connection between government spending levels and America's impending insolvency. They also see that the failure to control federal spending will personally cost them and their children in terms of dramatically higher future tax rates."
Holocaust investigation
The PJ Institute announced the results of a four-year investigation by Mark Gould. Gould went undercover to investigate Dr. Bernhard FrankBernhard Frank
Obersturmbannführer Bernhard Frank was an SS Commander of the Obersalzberg complex who arrested Hermann Göring on April 25, 1945 by order of Adolf Hitler, who had been manipulated by Reichsleiter Bormann into believing Göring was attempting to usurp the Führer's authority...
. Frank, a former colonel in the SS, played a key role in authorizing the killing of Europe's Jews. The investigation led to a lawsuit against Frank accusing him of genocide, torture, kidnapping, and crimes against humanity.
Roger Simon
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
and the Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981 that actively advances the work of filmmakers and storytellers worldwide...
. He is an alumnus Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
and the Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...
. Simon is a co-founder of Pajamas Media.
Sandra Graves Rozanksi
Rozanski is the Chief Operating Officer of PJ Media. She has worked for a variety of Fortune 500Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
companies including Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
. Rozanski holds and undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina
Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...
and an MBA from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
.
Aaron Hanscom
Aaron Hanscom is the Managing Editor of PJ Media. He formerly worked as an elementary school teacher in Los Angeles. Hanscom graduated from the University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
with a a degree in economics. His writing has been published in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Orange Country Register.
Board members
PJ Media Board members include many prominent bloggers and journalists, including InstapunditInstapundit
Instapundit is a United States political blog produced by Glenn Reynolds, a law professor at the University of Tennessee. The blog began in August 2001 as an experiment, and a part of Reynolds' class on Internet law...
, Glenn Reynolds
Glenn Reynolds
Glenn Harlan Reynolds is Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee, and is best known for his weblog, Instapundit, one of the most widely read American political weblogs...
, CNBC's Larry Kudlow, Michael Barone
Michael Barone
Michael Barone may refer to:*Michael Barone , US political expert and conservative commentator*J. Michael Barone , host of the American Public Media programs Pipedreams, The New Releases, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra...
of U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
, David Corn
David Corn
David Corn is an American political journalist and author and the chief of the Washington bureau for Mother Jones. He has been Washington editor for The Nation and appeared regularly on FOX News, MSNBC, National Public Radio, and BloggingHeads.tv opposite James Pinkerton or other media...
of The Nation, and Claudia Rosett
Claudia Rosett
Claudia Rosett is an American writer and journalist. She is journalist-in-residence at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a policy institute based in Washington, D.C. A former staff writer for The Wall Street Journal, she writes a weekly column for Forbes, blogs for Pajamas Media, and...
(who helped investigate the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
' "Oil for Food" controversy).
Personalities
PJ Media has had correspondents in as many as 48 countries and syndicates original content in the manner of a news service, one of the first new media companies to do this. It has also added a list of PajamasXpress bloggers.Andrew Klavan
Klavan is an authorAuthor
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
of "tough-guy" mysteries
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
and psychological thriller
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
s. Two of Klavan's books have been adapted into motion pictures: True Crime
True Crime (1999 film)
True Crime is a 1999 American mystery drama film directed by Clint Eastwood, and based on Andrew Klavan's 1997 novel of the same name. Eastwood also stars in the film as a journalist covering the execution of a death row inmate, only to discover that the convict may actually be innocent.-Plot:Steve...
(1999) and Don't Say A Word
Don't Say a Word
Don't Say a Word is a 2001 psychological thriller film starring Michael Douglas, Brittany Murphy and Sean Bean based on the novel of the same title by Andrew Klavan...
(2001). He has been nominated for the Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
four times and has won twice. Playwright and novelist Laurence Klavan is his brother.Klavan has been a regular contributor of short, witty video commentaries under the general title "Klavan on Culture", posted at PJTV.com
Pajamas Media
PJ Media is a media company that uses the Internet to present and comment on the news.Founded in 2004 by a network primarily, but not exclusively, made up of conservatives and libertarians led by mystery writer, screenwriter, and blogger Roger L...
. He also became a contributor to the center-right social networking and blogging Web site Ricochet.com on May 17, 2010.
Ed Driscoll
Ed Driscoll is an editor at PJ Media. A veteran journalist, Driscoll has contributed to National Review Online, the Weekly Standard, Tech Central Station (now Ideas in Action.tv) and "dead tree" publications ranging from PC World to Guitar World. He has been blogging since early 2002.David P. Goldman
David Paul Goldman is an economist, author and blogger for PJ Media. As a religious Jew, Goldman says that he writes from a Judeo-ChristianJudeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian is a term used in the United States since the 1940s to refer to standards of ethics said to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, for example the Ten Commandments...
perspective and often focuses on demographic and economic factors in his analyses. He says his subject matter proceeds "from the theme formulated by Rosenzweig
Rosenzweig
Rosenzweig, or Rosensweig is a German surname meaning "rose twig" and may refer to:* Barney Rosenzweig , an American television producer* Chaim Rosenzweig, a fictional character in the Left Behind novels...
: the mortality of nations and its causes, Western secularism, Asian anomie, and unadaptable Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
."
Stephen Green
Stephen Green began blogging at VodkaPundit.com in 2002. Green's writing has been featured in publications and website such as Guard Experience Magazine, The New Individualist, TCS Daily, in addition to Pajamas Media. In addition to frequent appearances on PJTV, Green also hosts PJM Political for XM Satellite Radio. Green lives with his wife and son in Monument, Colorado.Victor Davis Hanson
Victor Davis HansonVictor Davis Hanson
Victor Davis Hanson is an American military historian, columnist, political essayist and former classics professor, notable as a scholar of ancient warfare. He has been a commentator on modern warfare and contemporary politics for National Review and other media outlets...
is a military historian, columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
, political essayist and former classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
professor, notable as a scholar of ancient warfare
Ancient warfare
Ancient warfare is war as conducted from the beginnings of recorded history to the end of the ancient period. In Europe and the Near East, the end of antiquity is often equated with the fall of Rome in 476, and the wars of the Eastern Roman Empire Byzantium in its South Western Asian and North...
. In addition to his work for Pajamas Media Hanson has been a commentator on modern warfare and contemporary politics for National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
and other media outlets. He was for many years a professor of classics at California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno, often referred to as Fresno State University and synonymously known in athletics as Fresno State , is one of the leading campuses of the California State University system, located at the northeast edge of Fresno, California, USA.The campus sits at the foot of...
, and is currently the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
. Hanson was awarded the National Humanities Medal
National Humanities Medal
The National Humanities Medal honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities, broadened citizens’ engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to important resources in the humanities.The award, given by the...
in 2007, the Claremont Institute's Statesmanship Award at its annual Churchill Dinner, and the $250,000 Bradley prize from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation in 2008. Hanson is also a farmer (growing raisin
Raisin
Raisins are dried grapes. They are produced in many regions of the world. Raisins may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing...
grapes on a family farm near Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
) and a critic of social trends related to farming and agrarianism
Agrarianism
Agrarianism has two common meanings. The first meaning refers to a social philosophy or political philosophy which values rural society as superior to urban society, the independent farmer as superior to the paid worker, and sees farming as a way of life that can shape the ideal social values...
.
Michael Ledeen
Michael Ledeen is specialist on foreign policy. His research areas have included state sponsors of terrorism, Iran, the Middle East, Europe (Italy), U.S.-China relations, intelligence, and Africa (Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe) and is a leading neoconservativeNeoconservatism
Neoconservatism in the United States is a branch of American conservatism. Since 2001, neoconservatism has been associated with democracy promotion, that is with assisting movements for democracy, in some cases by economic sanctions or military action....
. He is a former consultant to the United States National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
, the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
, and the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
. He has also served as a special adviser to the United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
. He held the Freedom Scholar chair at the American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
where he was a scholar for twenty years and now holds the similarly named chair at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies describes itself as a non-profit, non-partisan policy institute "working to defend free nations against their enemies". It was founded shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks to address what it regards as the "threat facing America, Israel and the...
. He is a contributing editor to National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
, contributes to the Wall Street Journal, and regularly appears on Fox News and on a variety of radio talk shows. He has been on PBS's NewsHour
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
PBS NewsHour is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. The show is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, a company co-owned by former anchors Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil, and Liberty Media, which owns a 65% stake in the...
and CNN's Larry King Live
Larry King Live
Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
, among others. Ledeen regularly blogs for PJ Media.
Ronald Radosh
Ronald Radosh is a writerWriter
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, former Marxist, and neoconservative. He is known for his work on the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
case of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and his advocacy of the state of Israel. Radosh co-authored the book, "A Safe Haven: Harry S. Truman and the Founding of Israel", with his wife.
Glenn Reynolds
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
, is best known for Instapundit
Instapundit
Instapundit is a United States political blog produced by Glenn Reynolds, a law professor at the University of Tennessee. The blog began in August 2001 as an experiment, and a part of Reynolds' class on Internet law...
, one of the most widely read American political weblogs.
Ron Rosenbaum
Ron Rosenbaum is a journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He graduated from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1968 and won a Carnegie Fellowship to attend Yale's graduate program in English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
, though he dropped out after taking one course. He wrote for The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
for several years, leaving in 1975 after which he wrote for Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, Harper's, High Times, Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
, New York Times Magazine and Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
. Rosenbaum spent more than ten years doing research on Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
including travels to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and Jerusalem, interviewing leading historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s, philosophers, biographers, theologians and psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
s. Some of those interviewed by Rosenbaum included Daniel Goldhagen
Daniel Goldhagen
Daniel Jonah Goldhagen is an American author and former Associate Professor of Political Science and Social Studies at Harvard University. Goldhagen reached international attention and broad criticism as the author of two controversial books about the Holocaust, Hitler's Willing Executioners and...
, David Irving
David Irving
David John Cawdell Irving is an English writer,best known for his denial of the Holocaust, who specialises in the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany...
, Rudolph Binion, Claude Lanzmann
Claude Lanzmann
Claude Lanzmann is a French filmmaker and professor at European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.-Biography:Lanzmann attended the Lycée Blaise-Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand. He joined the French resistance at the age of 18 and fought in Auvergne...
, Hugh Trevor-Roper, Alan Bullock
Alan Bullock
Alan Louis Charles Bullock, Baron Bullock , was a British historian, who wrote an influential biography of Adolf Hitler and many other works.-Early life and career:...
, Christopher Browning
Christopher Browning
Christopher Robert Browning is an American historian of the Holocaust.-Education:Browning received his bachelor's degree from Oberlin College in 1968 and his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1975. He taught at Pacific Lutheran University from 1974 to 1999, eventually becoming...
, George Steiner
George Steiner
Francis George Steiner, FBA , is an influential European-born American literary critic, essayist, philosopher, novelist, translator, and educator. He has written extensively about the relationship between language, literature and society, and the impact of the Holocaust...
, and Yehuda Bauer
Yehuda Bauer
Yehuda Bauer is a historian and scholar of the Holocaust. He is a Professor of Holocaust Studies at the Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.-Biography:...
. The result was his 1998 book, Explaining Hitler: The Search for the Origins of His Evil
Explaining Hitler: The Search for the Origins of His Evil
Explaining Hitler: The Search for the Origins of His Evil is a 1998 book by journalist Ron Rosenbaum which tells of Rosenbaum's struggles with the "exceptionalist" character of Adolf Hitler's personality and impact on the world or, worse from his point of view, his struggle with the possibility...
.
Claudia Rosett
Claudia RosettClaudia Rosett
Claudia Rosett is an American writer and journalist. She is journalist-in-residence at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a policy institute based in Washington, D.C. A former staff writer for The Wall Street Journal, she writes a weekly column for Forbes, blogs for Pajamas Media, and...
is journalist-in-residence at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a policy institute based in Washington, D.C. A former staff writer for The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, she writes a weekly column for Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
, 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...
s for PJ Media, and makes guest appearances on television and radio.
Barry Rubin
Barry Rubin is the Middle East Editor for PJ Media. Rubin is a professor at the Interdisciplinary CenterInterdisciplinary Center
The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya is a private Israeli college located in Herzliya, Israel.The languages of instruction in the Interdisciplinary Center are Hebrew and English.-History:...
(IDC) in Herzliya
Herzliya
Herzliya is a city in the central coast of Israel, at the western part of the Tel Aviv District. It has a population of 87,000 residents. Named after Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, Herzliya covers an area of 26 km²...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, the director of the Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
-based Global Research in International Affairs Center (GLORIA) of the IDC, and a senior fellow at the Interdisciplinary Center's International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism
International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism
The International Institute for Counter-Terrorism is a non-profit organization located at the Interdisciplinary Center , Herzliya, Israel. The ICT was founded in 1996 and describes itself as "the leading academic institute for counter-terrorism in the world, facilitating international cooperation...
. He is also Research Director of the IDC's Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy; the editor of the journal Turkish Studies; the editor of The Middle East Review of International Affairs
Middle East Review of International Affairs
Middle East Review of International Affairs is a quarterly journal on Middle East issues edited by Barry Rubin and published by the Global Research in International Affairs Center of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel, which he also owns and directs.The GLORIA Center also publishes...
(MERIA); a member of the editorial board of Middle East Quarterly
Middle East Quarterly
Middle East Quarterly is a peer reviewed quarterly journal, a publication of the American conservative think tank Middle East Forum founded by Daniel Pipes in 1994. It is devoted to subjects relating to the Middle East and Islam and analyzes the region "explicitly from the viewpoint of American...
. He blogs regularly at Rubin Reports for Pajamas Media.
Michael Totten
Totten is a regular blogger for PJ Media. Totten describes himself as an "independent journalist." He travels extensively around the Middle East and other trouble spots around the world.Totten's work has appeared in The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, City Journal, the New York Daily News, The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post is an Israeli daily English-language broadsheet newspaper, founded on December 1, 1932 by Gershon Agron as The Palestine Post. The daily readership numbers do not approach those of the major Hebrew newspapers....
, the Daily Star
Daily Star (Lebanon)
The Daily Star is a pan-Middle East English language newspaper edited in Beirut. It was founded in 1952 by Kamel Mrowa, the publisher of the Arabic daily Al-Hayat to serve the growing number of expatriates brought by the oil industry...
of Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, Reason
Reason (magazine)
Reason is a libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 60,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the Chicago Tribune.- History :...
magazine, Commentary
Commentary (magazine)
Commentary is a monthly American magazine on politics, Judaism, social and cultural issues. It was founded by the American Jewish Committee in 1945. By 1960 its editor was Norman Podhoretz, a liberal at the time who moved sharply to the right in the 1970s and 1980s becoming a strong voice for the...
, LA Weekly
LA Weekly
LA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
, Front Page, Tech Central Station, and the Australian edition of Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
. Totten's first book, The Road to Fatima Gate: The Beirut Spring, the Rise of Hezbollah, and the Iranian War Against Israel, reports his experiences in the Middle East, primarily Lebanon.
Bill Whittle
Bill Whittle is the host of Afterburner with Bill Whittle, a PJTV program. He is a pilot, photographer, blogger, and video editor from Los Angeles, California.Partnerships
In 2006 PJ Media announced that they were forming a partnership with the news aggregator Breitbart.com. Both sites showcase the RSSRSS
-Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...
feeds from the other. Andrew Breitbart
Andrew Breitbart
Andrew Breitbart is an American publisher, commentator for the Washington Times, author, an occasional guest commentator on various news programs who has served as an editor for the Drudge Report website...
said, "Some call them bloggers, but to me Pajamas Media are reliable and compelling first-responders to real time world events as they occur. I am proud to now be featuring PJM's exceptional news content at Breitbart.com."
In January of 2008 PJ Media announced that they were working with Vividas
Vividas
Vividas Holdings Pty Ltd is a software company situated in Australia in August 2000....
, a company specializing in streaming video technology, to bring viewers high-quality news coverage in full-screen, high-definition video. Vividas' streaming technology ensures a smooth and enjoyable viewing experience without the need for any dedicated video player software.