We'd like to call our readers' attention to what we consider to be a very nice Weber County Forum plug in this morning's Standard-Examiner, for which courtesy we thank Wasatch Rambler columnist Charles Trentelman:
• What do blogs and tri-corner hats have in common?We do believe Charlie gets it mainly right. Yes, we are a community discussion forum, filling up a space left largely unoccupied by the mainstream media. And yes, speculation and gossip are sometimes part of our product mix, although we also believe we deserve credit for the scores of hard news stories we've broken on these electronic pages over the past 3-1/2 years. Not only that, most of our articles are springboarded off stories scrupulously linked from the broadcast and/or print media, so it's a mite unfair, we believe, to perceive us as "soft" on the facts. Nevertheless, citizen editorial journalism is what we practice here at WCF for the most part. We have no pretensions of being primarily hard-news journalists.
We're not going to gripe, however; this morning's column was a very nice plug, as we said. We're happy to assume the mantle of the original citizen journalists of this country, (the patriotic ones who wore the tri-corner hats.)
And for those readers who'd like to conveniently navigate to Charlie's own most excellent (non-vitriolic and non-mean-spirited) blog, we'll return Charlie's favor. We have the link right here:
• Blogging the RamblerHere's another thing Charlie gets right, by the way: Blogging is a hell of a lot of fun.
And to those new readers who were steered here by the URL that Charlie graciously included this morning's column, we invite you to read the articles and comments lodged on the front page, and to check out the article collections categorised in the right sidebar.
Hopefully we'll pick up a few new "regulars" along the way, open-minded readers who recognise the advantages of reading opinions (and facts) unconstrained by the whims of paid advertisers, ... and publishing their own observations and comments about local and national issues -- in real time -- to a readership which spans the globe.
Try it... you'll like it, we think.
So what say our gentle readers about this? The blogosphere eagerly awaits your next electronic utterance!
13 comments:
How can an angry reader chastize the WCF as mean spirited when the WCF exposes the corruption and cronyisms that exists in Ogden. I think the Wasatch Rambler is right on for the discussion that exists here.
How many times have we been notified on a moments notice of events that really do have an impact on our beloved city.
As to the comment that how can the Standard sink so low to even mention the WCF put a smile here. I hope the city don't pull their advertising from the Standard to retaliate for even mentioned a blog that shines the light on subjects the administration would keep secret and in the dark.
Painting everything on WCF with a single brush is bound to be misleading. Many folks here are mean-spirited, including our own blogmeister at times. Others aren't. Much of what's posted here is mere gossip. Much is factual, and often documented. Sorting it all out is a daily challenge that keeps the brain active. If we always pay the professionals to sort it out for us, the professionals will become too powerful--and power corrupts.
What Dan said.
Been thinking on it, and actually, there are even more parallels between the tri-cornered hats and blogs. Back in the day, John Adams and others regularly wrote opinion pieces for the colonial newspapers as the revolution came on... under pseudonyms. They signed pieces "Agricola" and "Vindix" and "Massachusettensis" and "Federal Farmer" and "A Farmer in Pennsylvania" and "Publius." And so on. Almost no one submitted a letter or opinion piece under his own name. Folks sometimes complain of blog posts that they are anonymous or put up under pseudonyms. Straight out of the revolutionary tradition, that is, and straight from the founding fathers. And now, as then, sometimes it was generally known who was behind the handle --- many knew, very quickly, that John Adams was "Massachusettensis" and that John Dickinson was the "Pennsylvania Farmer." We learned the authorship of other pieces only much later, often after the writer had died. And we still don't know who wrote some of them. Just like some blog posts.
Never thought of blogs as the modern day incarnation of the old colonial practice of anonymous articles, but now that Mr. Trentelman has pointed the connection out, the more I think on it, the more I like it.
Whereas the blog has up to the minute news, credible comments, and it's more than fair share of bullshit the SE has day old news, more than its fair share of one-sided editorials, comics, horoscopes, and talk about mean-spirited, Ask Abby ...
And as much as I like and respect Trentleman, his "I didn't say it was credible" remark was flippant and out of character ... hmmmmmm ... was someone peeking over Charlie's shoulder?
The object of the blog is for both sides to weigh in on the issues ... if we're not hearing from both sides, well it would be just like reading the SE ...
In fact, I would like to hear more from the folks the WCF is usually teeing off on - don't they know it's like the concensus of opinion with Ken Hammond - "he's not sticking up for himself, he must be guilty" ... and that's not right ...
I would like to see the Administration drop its "our best response, is no response" policy to the WCF and call bullshit when they think it's warranted ...
If I was being publically accused and personally berated for something completely ficticious, you can bet your sweet ass you could hear me screaming from Peterson's Scar ...
I'm a believer the WCF is here to stay ... a few years back, very few people I talked to had even heard of the blog ... now it's surprising if they're not just aware, but now, they partake in its discussions ...
WCF is for the everyone that wants to be involved ...
A lot of people drive Ford's ... a lot of people drive Chevy's ...
Any guesses as to who wrote the scathing letter to the Standard over Charlie mentioning the WCF?
My guess is Bobby G.
Sounds like Little Bobby to me.
Any other ideas?
Oh that's right. We're not supposed to offer our theories OR speculate.
Kudos to Trentelman. He didn't back down when the Gondolist/Godfreyite faction tried to intimidate him.
Instead, he published in an article, (astoundingly for the first time ever for the Standard-Examiner,) actually linking WCF's actual URL.
Once again, Trentelman stands out as a Community Treasure with today's column.
Newspapers in the Big Markets should be so lucky, as to have Trentelman on their payroll.
Rudi
What do you think about Officer Hammond situation?
Why didn't Greiner the weiner do something sooner?
with the use of the word vitriolic and a claim of mean spiritedness i think it can only be the work of the famous mr ed that was defeated in his bid for office.
junior doesnt have a vocabulary that includes the nickel word above nor the emotional calm to only refer to the bloggers as mean spirited. he would use the venaculary of the peasantry.
Could of been the little feller in the mayor's office hisself. I heard tell he doesn't particularly like the WCF or Rudi either.
Comment moved to front page
Though this exudes all the characteristics of geigarian geigery, we can no longer attribute it all to little shortdeck.
While we have been thinking that these mean spirited obnoxious geiger were laying low, they were secretly passing their brand of geigarian geigery on to a few select equally mean spirited, damn the public selfseving co-conspititors. Cavendish and g-train.
The last rash of threatening,vitriolic e-mails was produced by these two. We may recallg-trains faithfully yours, and cavendishes threat and warning to hijack the Central neighborhood plan, "stay out of it east bench."
Speaking of equine excrement, anyone know what gadi did with the money Walmart gave him? Shouldn't the City have liens or some sort of garnishment in place to protect our investment?
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