I'm happy/jealous/supportive/upset about DMac's announcement that he's going to be PW's new blogger.
Happy and supportive, because, why not? A guy getting a break and an alt weekly actually doing something - and it's all Philly.
Jealous, because, come on.
Upset, because, I think they should have been doing something like this a long time ago and I fear that it's not going to work. I want it to work, but I don't know. It seems like a conservative choice as well, turning yet another writer [he's currently a writer for The Evening Bulletin] into a blogger instead of picking a non-professional writer.
The Daily News did it with Attytood. The Inky did it with Blinq and now this. I wrote a letter to Philly.com about this 'giving a voice to the already voiced' situation that Jon Stewart brought up on The Daily Show months ago. I understand the want to have a reporter of sorts represent your paper, but things are changing. News flash, huge widely read bloggers are not all professional writers. Not all writers make good bloggers. But DMac has already wet his feet as a blogger since August of 2004, unfortunately without comments/trackbacks, but that's a whole different discussion.
The reluctance of PW - an "alt weekly" - to start a blog with someone who is not a published writer doesn't surprise me, but it upsets me a lot. Too bad.
But all that won't stop me from supporting DMac. Fuck no. I do wonder, however, what City Paper will do in response.
Hey, Albert -- I think you're missing the point here in several ways. One, of course, newspapers and alt-weeklys are going to use writers as bloggers, because they want to reflect who they are. If a law firm has a blogger, for example, you can pretty much bet it's going to be a lawyer.
As for feeling jealous that they don't bring in "a real blogger" -- well, real bloggers should be happy that they're real bloggers and starting to get the respect and attention they deserve.
After all Albert, why do you think the DN and Inky and now PW started blogs in the first place? They're jealous of YOU.
Posted by: will | July 21, 2005 at 02:27 PM
I think you're missing my point - a MSM backed blog has the opportunity to really reach out into the community and have someone they see as a talent and give them a larger soapbox from which to speak. Why are athletes displacing commentators in the world of sports tv/radio? You're telling me that Clyde Frazier is better at calling a game than Marv Albert? Yes, I know that athletes provide a different view, they are the 'color commentators' as opposed to the 'play by play commentator' but that they are there, right next to the person who is "supposed" to be there because they've been doing what they do for so long is what I'm talking about.
If a law firm had a blog, who would read it? Other lawyers? Would average people wander over to a law firm blog? No, I don't think you need a run-of-the-mill blogger for that. If a newspaper has a blog, who reads it? Newspaper writers? No, all kinds of people read your blog and Rubin's blog. They're both very good blogs, I'm there several times a day. PW had a real opportunity to break this conservative mold MSM has created, solidified and now, defended of hiring traditional writers. Granted, this time, McQuade has kept his own blog.
I really don't think those MSMs started blogs because they were jealous of me and the other bloggers out there. They panicked. They saw this blog thing taking off and carving into their web readership. They also saw another arena to get their in-house people more exposure and in Rubin's case, make money / offset costs by selling adspace. You'd definitely know the reasons behind it better than I do, you're on the inside, but I do love the interaction you have with us on the outside.
Posted by: albert | July 21, 2005 at 03:44 PM
I am interested to see what the focus of the blog will be... I just don't fully understand the idea of having a dedicated on-staff blogger. By putting one person in ultimate control of content and direction, you're defeating the purpose of a blog. It's really just MSM on the net at that point. You may as well just print the content in the paper.
It would make more sense to have someone on staff that is not focused on writing, but rather on how to use technology to better communicate. There's plenty of people that can produce written content, but who is focusing these days on how to use the power of blogs, and many other online communication tools, to engage readers and foster better communication.
Posted by: Dave | July 21, 2005 at 04:46 PM
I think Albert has a good point. Sure, anyone can blog. But papers ought to be taking a close look at hiring experienced bloggers, both to get a competitive edge through expanded circulation and because hiring experience is generally a wise thing to do. And, ultimately giving a blogger a salary is a way to ensure that he will be able to keep blogging.
Posted by: Rep. Mark B. Cohen | July 22, 2005 at 01:19 AM
It'll be interesting to see how it all shapes out. They'll be in direct competition with Philebrity, Phillyist and MetroblogPhilly when they get around to this. Will McQuade seem like he's stepping on the toes of the other writers on staff? Blogging about things/stories others are already working on? Will they have comments and/or trackbacks? Will you have to register to comment? What kind of a blogroll will they have - will it include the real bloggers or just the other media ones? Will ads be on the blog? So many questions. We'll all see what happens soon enough.
Posted by: albert | July 22, 2005 at 11:51 AM
You all are pathetic. Truly ungodly pathetic.
McQuade rules and you all need to get laid.
Posted by: Tim | July 22, 2005 at 05:17 PM
The kind of sychophantic comments we can look forward to in the future? Thanks Tim for the incredible insight.
Posted by: albert | July 22, 2005 at 07:39 PM
Dear Albert,
Sign off your computer, go outside and get some ass. You clearly need it...the only thing lower on the food chain than a blogger is someone who critiques and bashes bloggers. You truly are pathetic.
I hope you are sterile so the world will never have to deal with your progeny expressing pointless views as their asinine sperm donor.
Posted by: Tim | July 22, 2005 at 08:34 PM
Hey Tim,
I'm SUPPORTING DAN MCQUADE. I'm not in favor of the concept of hiring writers in the manner that these MSMs have been doing lately. I've been reading his blog and we've been in email contact for many months now.
Go ask him. And let me say thank you so much for coming back to my website and reading my comments. Good to see you wanted to read what I had to say. I guess you enjoy my blog.
And thank you for your advice, but I'm getting plenty of ass. Maybe you should get outside and stop checking back on my blog, trolling, and get yourself some ass.
How am I bashing Dan? Have I said Dan is a shitty writer, his articles suck or his blog is stupid? NO. I've read his articles in the Bulletin and enjoyed them. I've been reading his blog for almost a year now. He was on my blogroll right up until he announced that his blog would go dead. I'm on his blogroll. He commented back on Philly Future to answer some of my questions on this new venture. He's obviously not threatened and he shouldn't be, because I have no animosity towards him. He's got my support.
I'm looking forward to you coming back to my blog, again, and commenting. Please do. But keep it civil. There's no point in getting nasty.
Posted by: albert | July 22, 2005 at 11:14 PM
Albert-
I'll quote you on this one from your above post: "Dan is a shitty writer, his articles suck... his blog is stupid."
Will you quit insulting Dmac?
Posted by: mike | November 03, 2005 at 12:23 PM