|
1/21/2005 |
|
Publishing don weighs in on local blog fad Willy Hammer: "Bloggers...they're like Ham Radio operators. They're talking in their small little groups thinking the rest of the world is interested and of course almost no one is paying attention. It's a nice hobby...but not a legitimate business model yet...The National Guard document forgeries were an exception where bloggers did something noteworthy." me: "Can I quote you on that in a blog?" Hammer (laughing): "Sure. I had some blogger named Mark Tapscott interview me on journalism and blogging. I think he was from the Washington, DC area. I told him all the money was in print. If there's a revolution in how we are doing business it's the Internet itself not blogging specifically. Who wants to read someone's private diary? I didn't give him much encouragement. He warned me that once he posts his interview I will likely be flamed with e-mails. I'm not sure how long ago that was now." me: "No e-mails yet?" Hammer: "No, not one. You can see how terrified I am." Update (Monday 6:00pm): Upon the sage advice of someone who's understanding of proper journalistic professionalism and etiquette I fully respect I have decided to pull off line the rest of the conversation I detailed on the previous link here.
Being lazy, I had condensed the key elements of the friendly end of week banter in Willy Hammer's office into a few brief sentences enclosed by quotation marks. This was done solely on my own recollection without the use of notes or a recording device. Describing our casual desk-side chat as a "conversation" and presenting it in a question and answer format could easily result in it be misconstrued as a formal interview --- you know with professional journalistic tools like notes or other recording devices for accuracy. This was certainly not the case. In fact, I had entered into our chat with no intention to blog anything on it and was only inspired to do so and when Willy made the perceptive comparision between Ham Radio operators and the current state of Blogging on the planet -- and said that I could quote him on that. I was not transcribing the results of an interview, formal or otherwise.
Also, as it was pointed out to me that the closing remark about Mark Binker's three cats was actually Scott Yost's interjection, I am sufficiently suspect of my powers of recollection in this case that I think it is prudent to perform this retraction. The upside here I suppose is that I got a personal education in journalistic standards for much less time and money than going to school. On the downside, oh boy... In following up with Willy Hammer on this matter, he was gracious in accepting my apology and welcomes anyone who would directly like his insight and opinions on the blogging phenomenon. He can be reached at 273-0880 or w@rhinotimes.com (It's 10pm Monday night and the comment feature in Radio is experiencing a temporary blackout. This is not the fault of your receiver. Please stay tuned.) 8:24:24 PM 
comment []
|
