Sunday, September 16, 2007

Brian's Blog Serves All Media Even The Tabloid

Brian's Blog has become the go-to source for Knoxville's media. Whether it is WBIR News that reports a couple of days following our report on direct mail postcards involving the storm water ordinance. We reported it at Brian's Blog the day they hit the mailboxes. That is the great thing about blogs, we report instantly.

Then tomorrow you will read in the West Side Slopper News and the other Slopper editions, Sandra Clark's report and we were once again even her source. Here is Sandra's report utilizing our information.

Stormwater fight heats up
Post card attacks west side commissioners Knox County Commission will vote on its much-debated stormwater management ordinance on second reading this month with committee discussion today. Commissioner Greg “Lumpy” Lambert carried an amendment crafted by the Homebuilders Association which was adopted on first reading. West side commissioner Tony Norman, led the fight to adopt the original ordinance. Last week city Law Director Morris Kizer delivered a saberrattling letter to Knox County. “It is clear that the (county’s) ordinance (as amended) does not comply with the terms” of the 2001 agreement that the county’s stormwater standards will be at least as strong as the city’s, he wrote. This is important because stormwater from developments outside the city flows toward the Tennessee River. City officials argue that much of the flooding along First Creek is caused by runoff they cannot regulate. Kizer cited 13 examples of the county’s ordinance being inadequate and threatened that the city will “pursue its available remedies” if the county fails to correct the shortcomings. Also last week, a reported 50,000 piece mailing was sent from Nashville into homes of voters in districts where commissioners had voted for the watered-down Lumpy version of the stormwater ordinance. The card targeted 4th District commissioners Lee Tramel and Richard Cate and listed their home numbers. – S. Clark

Obviously, she failed to see our update yesterday that reports Commissioners Phil Ballard and Jack Huddleston were targeted as well. You know it is real hard work gathering reports from blogs and websites and laying it out for print in a paper edition that E.W. Scripps prints for them.

So, Brian's Blog serves the real media and the tabloid "not real news" media. We are happy to help our community, even Sandra.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

All the journalism world has been a hell of a time figuring out when blogging becomes "citizen journalism" and whether regular folk are "journalists."

I can't comment on the specifics of the situation you're talking about here, but you've helped me come up with a definition of when a blogger becomes a member in good standing of the journalist tribe. The first day one of your stories gets ripped off without credit.

It has happened to all of us and bitching about it is like talking about football for us.

Welcome to the club.

Brian Hornback said...

You are right. No more bitching from me. I actually view it as a compliment, that Sandra, Betty and all others would want emulate me. Maybe they will become real people instead of what they are.