Hunter S. Thompson: pre-Internet blogger?

From Poynter Online: New York Times writer Frank Rich deems the late Hunter S. Thompson a blogger without an Internet, taking into account the Gonzo proponent's "unruly mix of fact, opinion and masturbatory self-regard."

"Today you can't tell the phonies without a scorecard," wrote Rich, lamenting bloggers and journalists who were on campaign payrolls in last year's election. In comparison, Thompson was pure.

"He was a blogger who had the zeal to leave home and report firsthand and who could write great sentences that made you want to savor what he found out rather than just scroll quickly through screen after screen of minutiae and rant," said Rich.

NBC's slogan "Reporting America's Story" was actually what Thompson did "before the phrase was downsized into a vacuous marketing strategy," he added.