And he wants you to pay for it. As they say, idle minds are the devil’s workshop. Here’s an idea so dumb that only a journalist could have thought of it. David Scharfenberg, recently laid off from A.H. Belo’s Providence Journal, writes today in the Boston Globe that $100 million of the stimulus package should go to “young journalists” much like, well, David Scharfenberg:
The cash would seed low-cost, Internet-based news operations in cities large and small – combining vigorous, professional reporting with blogging, video posts, citizen journalism, and aggregation of stories from other sources.
Wait. Would FrontBurner qualify? We blog. We do video posts. We have citizen journalism. We aggregate stories from other sources. As for “vigorous, professional reporting,” well, four out of five ain’t bad. David, my new buddy, I think you might be on to something. Forget about that fussy old First Amendment. Give me a call.
17 comments
Would non-cooking Dallas food blogs count? It could replace the stimulus check I know I won’t be getting anytime soon. I’ll even learn how to post videos.
I’ll use the money to hire Bethany.
Would Wick qualify as a “young journalist”?
“aggregate” – hmmm, so that’s what you call it.
The not-for-profit “newspaper” model, the non-tongue-in-cheek focus of the B Globe’s story, has some legs. Voice of San Diego and MinnPost have attracted some top notch reporters. Many are from their respective city’s newspapers and TV stations. I look forward to seeing this model in DFW.
Best of all, they are not cutting staff and salaries, losing print sales hand-over-fist, publishing fluff, or drawing from their established (thank god) credit lines until “the economy picks up.”
Not Me,
Also called “rarely credits Unfair Park for posting first.”
My blog is definitely not-for-profit. Not even for revenue-at-all – and it only contains Marshmallow Fluff (or Creme) occasionally as a reference. But I do write.
Are you saying I’m not worthy of the bailout? One person’a fluff is another person’s lifeline (i.e. People Magazine, Teen Vogue, Discovery Magazine).
How about if I hire a “real” journalist, maybe branch into sports and try to lure Kevin Sherrington, or that nice young man who writes about golf at TDMN. Hubby would like that.
The chances of a small merchant restauranteur receiving a taxpayer subsidy stands zero (zip, nada, squat). We just help raise the money to be spent.
Where’s the love?
Definitely a dumb idea. The stimulus should go to older journalists. The older the journaliost, the bigger the stimulus.
Once again, Bill Marvel is correct!
Count me in! Terrell needs a good online venue.
1. The not-for-profit will be the way newspapers survive. See Steve Coll’s blog at the New Yorker or Felix Salmon at Portfolio, which I only recently discovered but is great.
2. Pajamas Media, the right-wing blog conglomerate that was created to much fanfare awhile back, seems to be crumbling.
I post long, rambling diatribes in the comments sections of various blogs… I definitely need a bailout.
Bill, I think the stimulus you are looking for is called Viagra.
What this country REALLY needs to get back on track is a Blog Commenter Bailout.
Rare occurence, but I’m foursquare behind Dallasite on this one.
That is, on a “me-too” basis. If we’re competeting for federal funds here, my position is that Dallasite is an unworthy scoundrel what’s gamin’ the system. Rambling — ha! I’ll see you your Rambling and up you an Impertinent!
@Congress of the Cow: Wick is- in his own mind. hehehe.
On Scharfenberg: he’s more likely to have monkeys fly out of his butt.
The rest of you: the only stimulus you’re gonna get is at the end of your own arm.
Thank you for my morning laugh.