Michael Allen (journalist)

Michael Allen (1964-) is the chief political writer for The Politico. Prior to joining Politico for its 2007 launch, he worked at numerous other publications, including the New York Times and Time.

Biography

Allen grew up in Orange County, California. He graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1986, with a double major in politics and journalism.

His first reporting job was with the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star. He has also worked at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Washington Post, the New York Times and Time.

At Politico, a Washington-based print and on-line publication launched by Allbritton Communications, Allen is known for his daily “Playbook.” The Playbook is a daily digest of political news read by many senior Washington officials in the White House and Congress and by many political operatives..

Mike is the son of political writer Gary Allen.

Controversy

On more than one occasion, he has come under considerable criticism from other political writers such as Andrew Sullivan, Glenn Greenwald, and Media Matters for publishing articles that are primarily quotes, many on "background" so the speaker is unknown outside of occupation. Often the material quoted is unsourced rumors or unsubstantiated claims, and often has a malicious tone. His willingness to quote extended statements has given him frequent access to high-ranking officials, such as former Vice President Dick Cheney, who are attracted to his large internet presence hosted by Politico. Since he is quoting others, the journalistic ethics involved are murky and in some cases his actions are clearly acceptable, however the pattern has earned him the nickname, "Washington's Stenographer".

Allen defended his conduct on one occasion as follows:

Sometimes ya have to read beyond a blog snippet. When people read our actual article, they’ll see that the headline and top two-thirds are an exclusive on David Axelrod’s behind-the-scenes description of the President’s decision-making process, followed by a shorter Bush view from a very high-level official whose opinion was available only on background — not ideal, but better than making readers wonder what the official Bush view is.

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Awards

In 2004, Allen won the White House Correspondents’ Association’s Merriman Smith Memorial Award for outstanding presidential coverage on deadline. The award was given to Allen for his reporting of President George W. Bush’s secret trip to Baghdad, Iraq.