Our politics have got BuzzFeed intrigued

Sure, local politics is almost a mandatory hobby in our neck of the woods.

But there’s fascination afar about North Idaho voting blocs, conservative Redoubtians and all the rest.

Anne Helen Petersen — western correspondent for BuzzFeed.com — has been roaming the area for a couple of weeks, and plans another trip here to interview more players involved in our unique political landscape.

By the way, in case you’re not big into the social media scene, BuzzFeed has become a very big deal. It’s a news and entertainment outlet with a focus on digital media and technology.

It’s hard to miss a major BuzzFeed story, since its content appears on Twitter, Facebook and a host of other social media sites.

Consider this: As of June 27, BuzzFeed Video’s YouTube presence had attracted more than 10.2 billion views and hooked nearly 13 million subscribers.

SO WHAT, exactly, lured Petersen to North Idaho with plans to do a 7,000-word feature story based mostly on the history and current state of politics in the region?

“Well, I know the area because I grew up in Lewiston,” she said. “I spent about three years in New York [BuzzFeed’s headquarters] and then I got the western job, with the chance to move full-time to Missoula.

“I’m sure I’ll be doing Hollywood celebrity stuff, because that’s been my bread and butter, but I’m really interested in features about people and places in this part of the country.

“And I’d been kind of following all the political changes and controversies in North Idaho, so I thought I’d come and talk to everyone I could find who knows something about it.

“At the moment, it’s like: This thing is so big that I don’t know exactly what it will be.”

That seems appropriate for Petersen, who didn’t quite know what she wanted to be, either.

She earned a PhD in celebrity gossip (no, that’s not a misprint) from the University of Texas and moved on to teach media studies at Whitman College in Walla Walla.

“Crazy, huh?” she said, unable to hide a huge grin. “From Walla Walla to Brooklyn. It’s not your traditional career route.”

IT TURNED out that 2014 was a big year all around, as Petersen left academia for BuzzFeed and celebrated publication of her first book, “Scandals of Classic Hollywood.”

She’s since written two more books, and the latest — “Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud” — was released this year.

Petersen admitted childhood memories of Coeur d’Alene made it easy to decide on this North Idaho assignment.

“Oh, this city was so glamorous when I was growing up. My dad used to come up here for meetings, and I still remember that they had bathrobes in the rooms. I mean, BATHROBES!

“And we got to order meals from room service. Imagine room service in glorious Coeur d’Alene when you’re growing up in Lewiston.”

So now she’s back, ordering room service on her own — but hard at work.

“This is the kind of piece I love to do, trying to see what’s really happened in North Idaho politics. After all, this was a union area and a Democratic region, and that wasn’t so long ago.

“So what’s changed? The Redoubt people? Immigrants from Orange County in California who are looking for a conservative home? The KCRCC [Kootenai County Republican Central Committee]?

“What’s that all about with Brent Regan and Christa Hazel? I want to examine everything – and there’s just so much, both politically and socially.”

Go for it, Ms. Anne.

Hope there’s some Excedrin in those bathrobe pockets.

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Steve Cameron is a special assignment reporter for The Press. Reach Steve via email: [email protected].