Comments on: internet not a wasteland

By: junior

junior — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:11:57 +0000

What about the people who do not have computers and never heard the world blog or of Sticks of Fire. The newspapper could go back tolarger print and also the blogs could use bigger font for people with farsidedness and etc.

By: tommy

tommy — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:59:37 +0000

I work for another newspaper, run two blogs and get lots of hits. I remember the Tampa Times (I also remember the Lone Ranger on radio) but time marches on, the technology is great, blogging is fun and it allows me to connect to a lot of people. Don’t look back.

By: junior

junior — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:03:36 +0000

Have you ever lived without your hometown newspaper/ I have if you ever did you would feel alot like Coloumnist Otto. OUR NEWSPAPER WAS ON STRIKE FOR SIX MONTHS. If you want to hear more just let me know and I will tell you all about those six months without local news,advertisement etc.

By: Lara Diamond

Lara Diamond — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:44:07 +0000

Amen, Tommy. I worked at the Trib for a year, and I can say some of the nicest people I’ve ever known comprised the editorial and design staff there. But the age of the broadsheet newspaper is ending–and tabs aren’t far behind. It’s sad and it’s leaving a lot of good people struggling, just as the demise of manufacturing in this country did. But journalism is not dead. It’s alive and well, in spite of media conglomerates that have done their best to choke the life out of it. I highly recommend that people interested in media reform and in returning the public airwaves back to the public check out the National Conference for Media Reform at http://www.freepress.net/conference/
In case you didn’t see it, there’s a link to Bill Moyers’ speech that is incredibly inspirational.
And btw, Crack Ho, I’ve working as a professional journalist and I’ll put Tommy up against a lot of people who call themselves journalists and get paid for it. He’s open minded, fair, informed and he does his homework.

By: crack ho

crack ho — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:15:36 +0000

i generally like this website, Tommy is enjoyable to read. But i think it’s difficult to compare it to professional journalism. No professional organization would have an guy like Ski, who insults the intelligence of your readers. He still hasnt apologized for his Hitler reference, which you would never see in mainstream media, because professional journalists are educated. If i’m correct, Ski doesnt live in our community, does not attend the sporting events he covers, has no special connections or contacts in the sports world, and is not an entertaining writer. The difference between his writing and what you would see from a professional journalist is profound, and it makes your blog much less than it would otherwise be.

By: RayC

RayC — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:23:31 +0000

Stevie Boy, float with the changes or lest ye ass be left waaay behind. You’re stuck in a rut with the MG boys who probably are just wearing their first “smiley face” pin. Personally, I scan both local rags daily AND enjoy the freshness of the electronic media.
I’ve always enjoyed your work but would prefer an unencumbered, unedited “Ottograph” blog over a stale newspaper column sanitized by the Trib cryptkeepers. But that’s just me……

By: Clyde

Clyde — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:20:57 +0000

I have to agree on Media General and the Tribune. Since moving here in 2004, I have been repeatedly amazed at the topics the paper thinks are worthy of front page headline. They do some decent investigative reporting, but, considering the target-rich environment here in the bay area, far too little. To be fair, they do a good job covering sports(always the biggest section in the paper) and our recurrent sex scandals. Not the paper to be reading if you want to be informed

By: Anon

Anon — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:37:03 +0000

Admin nailed it. The idea that newspapers are entitled to always set journalism standards simply because they always have speaks to the arrogance that is resulting in their demise.

Hey Steve, Tommy’s right. You’re a great guy but it’s simply a case of evolve or die. Sorry. It’s not too late to start your own blog though.

By: GKR

GKR — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:28:17 +0000

Tommy, this is slightly off topic but there is a new blog in town called Brand Tampa:

http://brandtampa.ning.com/

“Find, connect and collaborate with the people and organizations that are making Tampa a better place to live, work and play.”

It is more design, architecture and planning oriented than others I’ve seen.

By: admin

admin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:03:58 +0000

You know, call me a conspiracy theory nut but this meets an agenda to me. The Tribune and Mother Corporate are conservative in their news coverage and who is the new villain besides the “liberals” out there? Bloggers. The Blogosphere.

To me that’s like labeling the voters as the problem… Bloggers are EVERYONE! Not a specific writer with a specific editor over his head but anyone who has internet access and can report on news. There is no floodgate with the Blogosphere so yes, there is a wasteland but when the media decides how a story is going to be covered or which stories are going to be covered, the news itself becomes a wasteland of ignorance. You can trumpet one candidate and ignore another and that effects opinions. You can ignore a smoking gun proof of corruption for the sake of corporate contributions in the newspaper, and no one will get upset about it. But if that stuff gets uncovered by a blogger? Whoopsie.