Monday, August 30, 2004

John Robinson's Sunday column on blogging at the N&R gets picked up by the preeminent journalism newsblog, Romenesko. 5:00:04 PM    comment []

"Underdog Politicians Jet bugaboos," and other conference notes from Woody Cavenaugh's tablet PC. He loved this quote: "Blogs are the media of last resort." First resort, too, sometimes. Or as Woody might say, ""The sta of the slow is frog ras sit rosters?" Also, JW: "I learned that there is space for everyone in the blogosphere...I’m glad to have carved out a tiny little niche for myself. And I’m damn glad the others have, too." Update: Josh Neas: "A great romp." 2:05:02 PM    comment []

N&R editor John Robinson blogs about two related topics -- what goes on the front page of the paper, and recent front-page articles about the impact of faith on local lives. About a perceived shift away from "hard" news on A-1, JR writes: "(W)e emphasize stories that are local, serious and exclusive. Many readers can get the headlines about Iraq, Bush and Kerry, and Hurricane Charley before they go to bed. It has become increasingly difficult for us to tell them something they don't already know because of the easy access to other information sources." Makes sense to me as an N&R subscriber and information junkie. I have no interest in a wire service article in my local paper on anything but the freshest of news. The value they add to my data-stream is largely local. The second post deals with a request to cover non-Christian religions in the faith series. JR: "If you know of stories, Christian or non-Christian, that illustrate the power of faith, let us know." That's fine as far as it goes, but I'd like to see them run a story on some interesting person in our community who is a devout non-believer, who draws on some ethical principles and moral code that is not explicitly religious -- now that would be fresh journalism. And IMHO, none of it belongs on the front page, even a localized front page, although I will say they run these things on Sundays, which are soft everywhere... ...and also I want to avoid the trap that many newspaper critics (of all papers) fall into, and that is assuming that the whole thing is served up just for me, when in fact it is a smorgasbord, and I'm sure a lot of people who are digging the gardening column and lamenting the loss of Mark Trail could get along just fine without the weekly political scoop column, without which my Saturday is not complete. 1:57:02 PM    comment []

Allegations of skullduggery and bare-knuckle politics in the comments to Hoggard's post about the Guilford County school board and its discontents. 1:38:37 PM    comment []

I got a little choked up when I saw that full-page ad in this morning's NYT, the blank white page with the words Imagine Peace at the center and Yoko Ono Lennon's name at the bottom. Go ahead and laugh, I would, it was early and I'm a little vulnerable before the caffeine kicks in and I armor myself in knowingness for the day. I showed the ad to Elijah and Sydney, they are John Lennon fans, I thought they should see it, and they sweetly feigned interest and I drank my coffee and went back to being a crank. But thanks to Yoko for the moment, anyway. 1:32:48 PM    comment []

A survey for conference participants, created by TheShu. 10:46:33 AM    comment []

Patrick Eakes follows up my sunny newspaper column at his new blog: "It is time for the cynics to take their turn in the back seat." Yes. And it's time for people who don't want to settle for mediocrity to just do their thing even as the cynics keep complaining. The dogs bark and the caravan passes. On Saturday, Greensboro hosted the state's coolest web-related event of the summer. We drew people to our gem of an art museum from Charlotte, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill. Local talent and energy drove the project forward. Nobody waited for permission or help from the government. A powerful institution (the daily newspaper) and many who work there caught the vibe and became our accomplices. Politicians clued in and added their voices. Optimism was required to launch the event, and to run it as we did. We trusted people to be smart and work together and move the show along. Optimism was rewarded. Let the back seat drivers bitch and moan. They don't have the wheel anymore. Related Related 8:57:32 AM    comment []

A columnist at that bastion of liberalism, WorldNetDaily, calls Michelle Malkin's book "deeply silly and repulsive." Pithy, no? (link via Lex) 8:42:23 AM    comment []