If you choose to spend some of your time blogging, you learn to ignore the occasional snorts of derision from the legacy media. The “Mom’s basement” canard that’s seldom uttered but still colors perceptions. The dismissal of news that breaks in these parts until or unless it’s confirmed by “real media.” Their reluctance to follow up on that news, and their even greater reluctance to give credit where credit is due.
But sometimes it just piles up a little too high to ignore. And at the risk of sounding like a Whiny Blogger, I’m going to complain a little, and then explain why we deserve more credit than we usually get.
First, we had Kathryn Flagg’s little piece of secessionist hagiography in this week’s “Seven Days.” Thomas Rowley did a fine job of filling in all the missing information, but I want to focus on the story’s casual blogosphere-belittling.
See, according to revisionist historian and Keeper of the Secessionist Flame, Rob Williams, it wasn’t Thomas Naylor’s well-documented ties to neoconfederate seshesers that did him in. It wasn’t his angry outbursts against the widely-respected Southern Poverty Law Center. It wasn’t his appearances on overtly racist radio programs. No, it was that dastardly blogosphere what killed Naylor’s movement.
And by “blogosphere,” of course, he meant Green Mountain Daily, which tirelessly exposed the seamy underbelly of the Second Vermont Republic. And, for its trouble, came in for vicious attack by Naylor and his cohorts. But heaven forfend that Williams or Flagg should deign to utter our name.
After the jump: Windy Joe Benning and the “Fry Rice” controversy.
Next we turn to Senator Joe Benning, ardent Windy, who wrote a particularly spittle-flecked commentary this week in the Mitchell Family Organ. (Paywalled, sorry. But it’ll probably show up on VTDigger soon enough.)
A full recounting of Benning’s lies, distortions, and shrill attacks would fill up a lengthy post on its own, but for now I’ll mention how the mean ol’ blogosphere helped to kill the three-year wind moratorium that Benning supported.
Aghast over the word “moratorium,” a host of environmental groups lined up with author Bill McKibben and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders to oppose the bill. Gripping fiercely to the concept that Vermont should lead the world on addressing climate change, they failed to pause long enough to either read or understand the bill. Blogs and public opinion polls followed suit.
That paragraph alone contains more whoppers than your average Burger King, but my favorite is the last sentence: “Blogs and public opinion polls followed suit.” As if the Castleton poll had a mind of its own that was influenced by Bill McKibben.
I’ll take full credit for the “Blogs” part of that. I’ve written extensively on the importance of wind energy as one tool in the fight against climate change, and on the exaggerations and misstatements of Windies such as the good Senator. But it’s not because I’m ignorant; it’s because I’ve studied the evidence and the science, considered the issue, and come to a conclusion. But there are only two camps in the Windies’ worldview: The enlightened (anti-wind) and the ignorant (pro-wind).
So, Joe, go right ahead and disparage “blogs” as simpletons. Doesn’t make it true.
Finally, we come to a story uncovered by GMD’s own kestrel9000: the ignominious “Fry Rice” poster published by the St. Johnsbury Caledonian-Record.
After kestrel’s original post, we forwarded the story to Jim Romenesko, proprietor of a widely-read national blog on news media issues. He posted an item within an hour or so, and it quickly spread across the country.
And, after that, it even spread across Vermont, where the legacy media is loath to criticize its own; but when the story went national, they couldn’t ignore it.
They could, however, ignore the original source. None of the stories published or posted or broadcast anywhere in Vermont give credit to GMD for breaking the story.
Because, I guess, it’s not news until a “real media” source reports it.
Okay, look. I am very much aware of my limitations and those of GMD. We are not a news organization. We are a bunch of volunteers with no staff and no resources. We don’t cover all the news, nor can we. Sometimes we get stuff wrong. (When I do, I post a correction.)
But we do play a significant role in Vermont’s media ecosystem. GMD has a lengthy history, dating long before I ever washed up on this shore, of providing insight and analysis — and yes, even actual news — that’s not available anywhere else. The only currency we have is our credibility, built up slowly over the years. And it’s only because of our credibility that we attract about 25,000 site visits and 50,000 page views per month.
So no, we’re not the Burlington Free Press or the Mitchell Family Organ or VTDigger or Seven Days or even Channel 3 or Channel 5. What we are is Green Mountain Daily, and we are proud of that.
And we deserve an appropriate amount of credit for that. And too often, we don’t get it.
YOU DAMNED BLOGGERS CHANGE YOUR PJS AND GET THE HELL OFFA MY LAWN!
I’ve said it before but bears repeating GMD has talent. Although ‘a’ mark of news reporting is the dispassionate demeanor likely in part to convey a lack of personal opinion, having personality isn’t a bad thing, nor expressing personal opinions. This is what the blogosphere has given us. GMD has personality or maybe ‘personalitie(s)’ says it better. The injection of personal experience & experienc-es is what gives GMD its soul. Writing from a personal level is fine, but depends on the ‘persons’ doing the writing.
Other blogs contain newsworthy items, are well written, highly informative, excellent grasp of issues but they ‘ain’t got the same soul’. Writers on GMD say & bring everything they have & it shows. I actually think a few times GMD folded under criticism too early. I wasn’t in a place where I could weigh in-too tired or busy but it was troubling to let them go.
I also credit GMD for being a very loud voice re the antics of Super-PAC luminaries such as Lenore “Money Bags” Broughton & Bruce Lisman’s attempt to invade VT elections with their brand of ‘corporate personhood’. The VT MSM picking up of the story-esp Herald & Argus reached the entire state, however they seem reluctant to do their due diligence re Lismans antics, however there may not have been a good enough venue yet. That the republicans need the ‘life support’ of these jokers is quite a laugh. Lisman has a bunch of answers looking for problems. Both have been exposed as carpetbaggers.
The original “Viners” who were with NewsVine before they sold it to MSNBC were similiar to this, in depth, talent, ability & skill. As well as dedication to the truth and bringing the true news which is simply not being reported by MSM due to their monkey-see-monkey-do herd-like reliance on each other, being owned by magnates who are allied with & in thrall to their corporate overlords.
I’ve seen this happen in VT on a smaller scale.
Mockingbird Media”:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O…
I was surprised to see this:
http://7d.blogs.com/offmessage…
Who cares? Tar Sand-ernistas like the glossy brocure-wielding Canadians & officials who jumped right on this after the poll:
http://vtdigger.org/2013/03/06…
Putting my poms down now!
No other Vermont blog can make that statement!
jvwalt: You mentioned Naylor’s “appearances on overtly racist radio programs.” (The Political Cesspool) That first appeared at my blog but as I said in the post, “I (had) received a message (during that) last week regarding an unusual Naylor sighting.” With Naylor now both literally and figuratively ensconced in the ash bin of history and no longer able mail out his green felt pen hate letters, I going to reveal that it was a GMD front pager who slipped the information over the transom.
My second point would be that I don’t think that mainstream media are capable of thinking quite as selflessly as bloggers do on a regular basis. Bloggers will forward a story to what they think might be a better outlet more often than is commonly realized. But the legacy media will let an important story die a cold, dark death if I doesn’t fit the budget.
The truth lurking in the ‘source’, GMD, is far too damning.
Then anyone can investigate the matter in GMD archives, get to the bottom of it & the crock he was feeding his starry-eyed followers.
Same reason Windy Joe refers only tangentally to “blogs” as a source for sullying his campaign of pure folly:
*emphasis added
Damn those truthmongers. Curses, foiled again!
All stories in Herald/Argus aren’t paywalled for some reason. Seems like someone from the castle cut a hole in the fence.
Wiindy Joe’s op-ed fried my truthometer to a crispy black, it’s still smoldering. Whew.
John Greenberg summed it up well:
http://www.timesargus.com/arti…
All just a huge misunderstanding the “Misunderstood moratorium”. Uh huh.
When “Santa” pied Douglas at the July
4th3rd Parade in Montpelier, I watched it, headed immediately to the nearest public computer, and posted a quickie about it on GMD. For my trouble, State Police investigators showed up at my place of work two days later and questioned my co-workers about me and my possible involvement with “nefarious extremist activists” (their actual words), specifically citing the time-stamp of when the diary had been publish as some kind of proof that I had pre-knowledge of the pi-ing. I believe they claimed it was 4 minutes after the pie was thrown- talk about “breaking news”!