Friday, December 8, 2023

The discerning American public

Heh.  I came across this old post, The attention inequality economy regarding some incident back in 2018 when journalist Ruth Graham wrote some snide little piece criticizing all the attention being lavished on George H.W. Bush's service dog, Sully H.W. Bush.  I noted that in the attention economy competition, that Graham was running a distant second behind Sully H.W. Bush.

If you want to keep count, Sully's followers at Sully H.W. Bush [on Instagram] now stand at 192,000 followers.

Slate followers at Slate now stand at 32,600 followers.

I can't find a public Instagram account for Ruth Graham but she does have one at Twitter. Her count is 13,800 followers.

Five years later, and five years after President George H.W. Bush's death, Sully is still going strong, still in the service of the veterans of the country.  He participated in the funeral ceremonies of President Bush.


















Click to enlarge.
He was later inducted as a Hospital Corpsman, now First Class.  


 And has a bronze statue cast in his honor.


















Click to enlarge.

And the attention economy competition between Sully and his detraction, Ruth Graham?  Well, in the five years since President Bush's passing, Graham has done well in what passes for a career in journalism.  She has moved on from Slate and is now a Dallas-based national correspondent covering religion, faith and values for The New York Times. 

She has also moved up the charts in Twitter, rising from 13,800 followers to 40,500.

And Sully on Instagram?  He was at 192,000 followers and I would have expected a decline after President Bush's passing.  No.  Still going strong now with 242,000 followers.  Nearly a quarter of a million.

Ruth Graham, New York Times reporter with 20 year career in journalism - 40,500 followers.

Sully H.W. Bush, Seven year old Labrador Retriever - 242,000 followers 

I'd have to say the American public are quite discerning. 

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