I’m set to interview him after the holidays. I figure, everyone else is quoting him. Why not me?
I’m hoping to convince him to be a part of a semi-regular feature on the site. The idea is: when something big happens, I get Greg Packer’s take on it. It would be the ultimate example of blogs beating the media!
Anyway, leave your proposed questions for Greg Packer in the comments. I will ask him the best ones.
And be nice!
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Q: Greg, did your job as a highway maintenance worker inspire you to become a “man on the street?”
Official Internet Data Office (08bfab) — 12/26/2008 @ 2:39 pmYou have clearly made getting your name in print as you comment on what others have done the focus of your life. Did you ever want to be notable in print for reasons having to do with something you actually accomplished?
L.N. Smithee (da0b05) — 12/26/2008 @ 2:41 pmPatterico, that idea is hilarious.
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (ed9791) — 12/26/2008 @ 2:43 pmI think it’s an idea whose time has come. Greg has as much to offer blogland as he does the MSM.
Greg Packer's sock puppet (ba9595) — 12/26/2008 @ 2:58 pmTruer words were never spoken than those in #4
Mike K (531ff4) — 12/26/2008 @ 3:14 pmHere’s my Top Ten:
1. Do you have a favorite musical performer, political candidate, product, sports team, etc., or is the point simply to get quoted?
2. Now that you’ve become a semi-notorious media source, is it more difficult to find reporters who will use your quotes?
3. Have you gotten feedback from media executives or reporters and, if so, what do they say?
4. What do your family and friends think about this? Do they help you or have they encouraged you to stop?
6. Do you come up with your quotes yourself or do you research by reading the papers and asking friends for suggestions?
7. Are there other people you know who do this, too? In other words, do you have competition?
8. Have you gotten requests for interviews from local media or comedy sources?
9. Do you recall when, where, etc., you were first quoted?
10. And the obvious question: Why?
DRJ (30954e) — 12/26/2008 @ 3:24 pmWho the hell is Greg Packer? And yes, you can ask him that.
Xrlq (62cad4) — 12/26/2008 @ 3:26 pmWho’s Greg Packer?
JerryT (efdfb7) — 12/26/2008 @ 3:26 pmOh geez. I just clicked on the link provided by Official Internet Data Office.
So my question to Greg Packer is:
How does it feel to have your own Wikipedia entry?
Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (ed9791) — 12/26/2008 @ 3:35 pmWhat is your success ratio? (i.e. on average, how many events must you attend for every time that you are quoted)
Have you ever been interviewed by a television reporter and then on the news?
Do you maintain a scrapbook of every article in which you are quoted?
aunursa (1b5bad) — 12/26/2008 @ 3:46 pmHave you ever been interviewed by a television reporter and then the interview appeared on the news?
aunursa (1b5bad) — 12/26/2008 @ 3:46 pmPatterico, shouldn’t you have a dedicated category for Greg Packer stories?
aunursa (1b5bad) — 12/26/2008 @ 3:47 pmAre you collecting (phony) disability payments as a result of your highway work?
rab (7a9e13) — 12/26/2008 @ 4:06 pmHave you ever interviewed yourself? Were the questions what you expected?
ras (20bd5b) — 12/26/2008 @ 4:13 pmPatterico, shouldn’t you have a dedicated category for Greg Packer stories?
Comment by aunursa — 12/26/2008 @ 3:47 pm
Suggested title…packerico.
allan (e29978) — 12/26/2008 @ 4:25 pmGreat minds…
I would ask him if he has any famous friends or family, whether he watches ‘reality’ TV, whether he consumes tabloid news a la Greta Van Susteren. In other words, what makes him seek fame as a regular guy / man on the street, and is he infatuated with others who have achieved such fame.
carlitos (ae0b26) — 12/26/2008 @ 4:45 pmPacker strikes me as a Don Quixote-type in his pursuit of media quotes, so I’d also ask him this:
What is your goal and can you quit when you reach it, or will you ever quit?
DRJ (30954e) — 12/26/2008 @ 4:52 pmMr. Packer,
If you had nightly enemas could you sleep in a shoebox?
Alan Kellogg (e4d258) — 12/26/2008 @ 5:22 pmGreg:
Al (93703e) — 12/26/2008 @ 5:36 pm1) How many times have you been interviewed?
2) Of that, how many times has your interview been aired/printed?
“Mr. Packer, why do you think it brings you so much satisfaction to get frequent media attention and your name in the paper so often? Have you ever considered a second career as a writer/pundit/radio personality/opinionator and if not, why not?”
no one you know (f7aa42) — 12/26/2008 @ 6:08 pmHow do you feel about salt?
Chris C (e4e736) — 12/26/2008 @ 6:17 pmI’d like to know if he’s keeping count and if so, what’s he up to?
Pablo (99243e) — 12/26/2008 @ 6:50 pmAre you a licensed plumber?
Perfect Sense (9d1b08) — 12/26/2008 @ 6:55 pmIf not, why should anybody care about your opinion?
Mickey Kaus has the best suggestion: let him host Meet the Press.
Packer, of course, is “the entire media’s designated ‘man on the street’ for all articles ever written.” The secret of his success, it’s pretty clear, is that he always spouts the CW that mainstream newspaper editors want to hear (and think their readers want to read). … Hmm. David Gregory has just been made moderator of Meet the Press. The secret of Gregory’s success seems to be that he always spouts the CW that his mainstream producers want to hear (and think their viewers want to hear too).
Mike K (2cf494) — 12/26/2008 @ 7:55 pmWouldn’t Packer be better? I mean, he’s got Gregory’s unerring CW-spouting capacity, plus he’s got Tim Russert-style blue collar street cred. He’s a “highway maintenance worker,” for Chrissakes! I think NBC missed a bet here. …
Most people see you as a huge practical joke on the media. Is that also your intention? Or was it your aim to mock the celebrity industry which makes people famous for being famous?
nk maybe soon to sign in as Ptolemy XV The Great (20403f) — 12/26/2008 @ 7:57 pmcarlitos,
Although I don’t specifically remember it, I am sure I saw your comment, and that it played some role in my idea.
Patterico (15e0f3) — 12/26/2008 @ 10:19 pmPatterico, why Greg? Paris Hilton would be more interesting.
Kevin Murphy (0b2493) — 12/27/2008 @ 12:35 amMr. Packer, which journalists who interview you are so clueless as to not know who you are, and which ones are so cynical and dishonest as to not care? Name names, please.
Mike G in Corvallis (70f47e) — 12/27/2008 @ 3:56 amI’m with Mike…
I’d ask him how he chooses and approaches his “mark”.
Or ask him when he first noticed journalists had become such willing dupes.
In other words, I’d like to know what year it was and where he was when Packer figured out how to manipulate the media and then his approach technique.
By the way, this type of behavior is quite innocent and funny, but society should be glad this quirk isn’t predatory instead.
SteveG (a87dae) — 12/27/2008 @ 6:07 amImagine yourself as a journalist sent out to cover a minor story.. and you never return… one minute you are interviewing this all american man on the street type and the next minute your head is in the freezer with about ten others and the rest of you is buried in the woods
Nail him down on his favorite team in each major sport.
Steve Smith (a82538) — 12/27/2008 @ 9:16 amWhat experience does Caroline Kennedy have which will help the Senate create laws to unwind the Wall St. leverage mess? What should we do about the trillions in Credit Default Swap deals?
Wesson (3ab0b8) — 12/27/2008 @ 10:46 amComment by Wesson — 12/27/2008 @ 10:46 am
Please explain how CDS transactions have put anyone at risk?
Another Drew (who will be known as AD in the coming year) (56c081) — 12/27/2008 @ 10:54 amIt is my understanding that said transactions are the only currently available method of assessing risk in the market that is functioning.
Am I being mislead in this understanding?
Seriously, does he get calls from NYT’s reporters or is he hanging out where ever news happens?
How’d he feel being outed by Ann Coulter?
Nancy (7163e4) — 12/28/2008 @ 8:01 amHave you been quoted in print under any other name(s)? If so, what are they, when, what publications, and how many other times?
bt (78b929) — 12/28/2008 @ 4:32 pmSo, now will the Yankees win it all?
Ira (28a423) — 12/28/2008 @ 7:35 pmHow do you file your activities with the IRS – as income or a business expense?
Vermont Neighbor (ceab4f) — 12/29/2008 @ 8:58 pm[…] this reminds me that my interview with Packer is long overdue. The main thing holding it up is the combination of the three-hour time difference, […]
Patterico’s Pontifications » Greg Packer Finds New Victim: Newsday (e4ab32) — 7/22/2009 @ 12:04 am