the blue plates
Don pointed to this piece from the NYU journalism program ranking newspapers on their blog efforts. I’m ambivalent about non-professional blogs integrated into newspaper sites – if the content is that compelling why not have a blog on your own, rather than make money for the paper. It’s interesting to see Houston and San Antonio paper make the top ten, since Austin and Dallas seem to have a “tech city” reputation in Texas. Perhaps Austin and Dallas already have entrenched local blogging cultures, so newspaper efforts go ignored by potential bloggers.
I was particularly intrigued to see the Daily Disappointment Oklahoman on the list with an honorable mention, since it is a truly awful newspaper that makes not effort to mask its conservative bias. Regardless of the paper’s quality, the authors of the piece note “One [blogger] writes on what makes Oklahoma City surprisingly interesting, another on what passes for fashion there.” Has this writer spent much time in OKC to be making snide judgments about Oklahoman’s clothes? Or are they just working off of stereotypes about “the heartland.” This seems unforgivably elitist coming from a J-School professor or student. OKC is probably my least favorite of the places I’ve lived, but this kind of dismissive attitude toward a poor mid-sized city is really ugly and undemocratic. Shame on you NYU!
