Comments on: Are We Journalists? What’s a Journalist? - Updated

By: jiminybizbo

jiminybizbo — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 05:55:28 +0000

Ask Raymond S. Diraddo how much of a reach RT has

Kapowee zowee batman! Never underestimate the power of the RT! May the force continue to be with you!

Enough of this chatter now. You’re giving it all away. Let them continue to wonder where you keep the magic dust. Let them beat their mouse into oblivion every time they log on here. Let them keep trying….to…..reach………..the……………mountaintop..
…and then slide all the way down to the bottom and start all over again.

Yeah, you’re that good and we know it. ‘Nuff said

By: Exile on Ericsson St.

Exile on Ericsson St. — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 03:48:58 +0000

Very solid post from DFE on this…thanks for adding that.

By: louis

louis — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:43:05 +0000

As has been demonstrated in some of the comments on these threads, the media reads you too. So if the media wasn’t aware of the story, or hadn’t connected the dots, you provide the basis for further investigation, a new angle, or a new story. And then the information shared on this site, though perhaps not credited to the site, is repeated in much more widely read traditional media.

By: btp

btp — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:44:07 +0000

Actually, I know of a number of independents and conservatives who read us. It would be more comfortable to preach mainly to the choir, but having a mixed audience sure does keep us on our toes, and sharper than we would be otherwise.

By: Exile on Ericsson St.

Exile on Ericsson St. — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:34:16 +0000

You’re “preaching to the choir” when you talk about the importance of newspapers. I agree completely. I just want the D&C to do a better job.

By: Elmer

Elmer — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:57:08 +0000

The impact you make depends on the number of people you reach. The D&C (and I’m not a big Gannett fan) has their circulation audited by a company controlled by advertisers. They have recently reported that they sell 150,000 papers Monday through Saturday (900,000 total) and over 200,000 on Sunday. In addition to that they have a web site that gets thousands and thousands of unique visitors every day and the print product is shared in restaurants, barber shops, homes, etc.

As good as your blog is, I’m sure the reach is not that long or deep, and as you know you are pretty much “preaching to the choir”

Please do not take this as an attack on your blog (which I enjoy reading and participating in), just a defense of newspapers.

By: louis

louis — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:49:12 +0000

You folks are better than journalists. btp notes above that he’s got a perspective. What a concept - acknowledging a perspective when you’re writing about topics. That’s one of the huge things lacking in mainstream media - an acknowledgement of what a reporter’s bias is, or who’s paying the bills, who’s hanging out with whom or feeding stories to whom, and how that impacts what gets reported, and more importantly, what doesn’t. If it weren’t for blogs, what would be know about Valerie Plame, the US attorneys, Haliburton and so much more? And if it weren’t for local blogs, what would have been written about the FAIR plan’s development before Maggie claimed it was developed (based on when commercials were done), how Stevie is on her payroll, the real impact of the FAIR plan, etc? You folks are terrific!

By: Exile on Ericsson St.

Exile on Ericsson St. — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:24:42 +0000

We’re doing more than ending the noise machine, in my opinion. That’s what I mean. There’s lots of problems that don’t have to do with the noise machine, that have to do with gaps in media coverage. And I think that what local blogs like us do best is fill those gaps.

By: stlo7

stlo7 — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:45:05 +0000

Isn’t that splitting hairs? Isn’t enabling people to “act” a means to ending the noise machine? Then there is the entire why people should act thing. Given people a reason to know more.

How does one counter act? Act.

By: Grievous Angel

Grievous Angel — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:44:42 +0000

I agree. We now “get it percolating.”

By: Exile on Ericsson St.

Exile on Ericsson St. — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:32:16 +0000

itÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s not about us, itÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s about counteracting the pervasive right-wing noise machine, really.

I thought that at first, but now I think our influence is much greater than that. Not that it’s about us, but that we can do more than counteract. We can act.

By: Jeremy.

Jeremy. — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:48:02 +0000

btp,

I’d say you do the “news” BETTER than many reporters, and not just because you bring a progressive view. Its because you bring that memory that you speak of, which so many young reporters cant do. I’m glad that the reporter who started this conversation has acnowledged that.

By: Grievous Angel

Grievous Angel — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 21:19:58 +0000

One thing is that you are highly invested in it if you are going to run a blog. It is a labor of love, so to speak. I’m willing to bet many reporters begin to think of their work not so much as a labor of love but as the thing that pays the bills.

The news never stops, they don’t have freedom over what to say and often about what to research, and so it becomes somewhat stifling and obligatory. I’m not saying that’s the case with all reporters or writers, but I think there is a bit of that going on.