Entries Tagged 'Weblogs' ↓

I’m no fan of Bill Hobbs*, but I try to give props where they are due, so here goes nothing. Hobbs left a comment at the farewell post at Volunteer Voters that deserves praise on a couple of levels. First, I’ll make with what he said:

It’s been a week, and I’ve come to a conclusion about the demise of VolunteerVoters.com. It’s not a big loss. It’s a MAMMOTHLY HUGE loss. There is a giant hole in the media fabric in Tennessee when it comes to political news. VV was the indispensable go-to source for all things political involving Tennessee, and provided depth and context that the various disparate news outlets often lack.

Additionally, while MSM outlets mention or quote from press releases and documents and such, VV often uploaded the whole thing, or gave readers a link to it - making it a far more valuable resource than any single MSM outlet for politics junkies.

It’s a damned shame that WKRN couldn’t figure out how to monetize the single most valuable political news property in the state. Here’s hoping that some other news outlet, one which understands the new media - and the new media consumer - and wants to be an information portal for its readers rather than just an information destination, decides it wants to take over VV, or at least hire Kleinheider to build a VV replacement for them.

This comment from Hobbs is about as close to how I feel about the situation as it can be. That site was special. It did something no other site does, at least not on the same level (hard for those with other jobs to compete with a full-time, paid blogger), which is streamline local and related national political news and opinion for an influential and sizable audience. Nashville editors, Tennessee senators and journalists all over the country logged in on a daily basis to read what Kleinheider brought. Surely someone with some smarts and a little vision can turn that into a profitable endeavor, at least in the long term. Bill’s dead on with that statement.

Here’s what also deserved recognition, and what prompted me to write this post: Kleinheider gave Hobbs hell. I mean, he deserved it, but VV was relentless when it came to the GOP blogger who is, no matter how you slice it, a force to be reckoned with. And yet, Hobbs comes to one of his biggest critic’s defense because what Volunteer Voters gave to its readers was bigger than all that. Cheers to Bill for being a big man. At least about that.

*Oh hai, understatement.

This comment was left by a Nashville News 2 staffer on the farewell post at Volunteer Voters, the political blog once run by that station:

Although, I always hate to see any one lose their job and I appreciate the work that Adam did here at WKRN. I have to say that if his departure saves the job of just one employee that actually does tv work then it was worth it to me. This is a tv station not a blog station. I saw a lot of tv employees lose their jobs while Internet people remained. Before Adam was let go we had 3 Internet people and only 4 directors. For a TV station that is just not smart. Blogs are a luxury for a tv station not a necessity and this station can’t afford any luxuries.

While I can totally see why this employee would feel this way, it is evident that they are completely unaware of how the internet is changing their profession in radical ways that cannot be ignored. People with this mentality will either catch on or get swept away in the new media tide.

Adapt or die.

I’m slowly oscillating between really sad and really pissed off. Nashville — hell, all of Tennessee — just suffered a great loss. WKRN fired the only blogger left on their premises. They shitcanned the best blogger in the state; the best by a wide margin.

What a fucking shame. I’m in tears.

Adam, you are a scholar and gentleman. I do not worry for you. Your future holds many more scoops and successes. Hold your head high, sir. You are irreplaceable.

Kleinheider blows me away sometimes. If you want to know what is going on with the TN GOP/Obama controversy then this perfectly encapsulates it. The linking, plus the insightful commentary, makes this one of the finest political blog posts I’ve seen in a long time. The man rocks his job. Hard.

(I miss Adam pretty bad, but this has nothing to do with that. Just wanted to acknowledge a job well done.)

“CBS5 has an awesome new blog page. And clearly, they also have great taste.”

Aw yeah, they are coming around. You just gotta dabble in the drama.

I’m going to be doing a live webcast with CBS 5 reporter Phil Matier at 10 p.m. PST at CBS5.com on blogger reactions to Super Tuesday. Watch for a live stream link here.

This Saturday I was interviewed during the CBS 5 morning newscast about the work blog. You can watch the video at CBS5.com.

Come. Read. Comment:

• Stats and Graphs: Something for Everyone
• Your Words Thru a Series of Tubes
• Bringing the Buzz on What’s Brand New
• I’ll Take Cheap Drinks for $200
• How Far Will You Go For Your Cause?

EDITED TO ADD:

• Bento Blogging
• Stylish-er Than Your Place
• Facial Hair for Whom?
• KRON Causing WKRN Cuts?
• New (and Illegal!) Real Estate Services
• SF Mag Editor-in-Chief Responds
• “Well then, allow me to retort.”
• Do You Know What You Are Fighting For

The work blog is now live, though a work in progress. Here’s my favorite piece of promotional copy that left the station today:

Our editorial team has created a unique focus today with www.cbs5.com/eyeonblogs. Editor, Brittney Gilbert, made a name for herself in the Nashville market and her opinions earned her a great following and the ire of the Nashville establishment. Unlike Nashville, the more opinionated the better when it comes to the Bay Area unique user base!

Hope you will come check it out.

The number of people who find this blog by typing my full name into search engines increases exponentially by the day. It’s starting to wig me out.