Too much opinion ... even for a blog?

[Hammer Pants]

http://dailyprogress.mgblogs.com/index.php/dailyprogress/category/Web%20Notes/

Thoughts? I couldn't imagine writing a blog like this, but I wasn't sure if others found it as silly as I did. Not trying to call anyone out here — it's not fun to be picked on by your peers — but doesn't this seem like a stretch, even for a blog?

 

[Cousin Jeffrey]

I think it was more just a case of a poorly written piece of journalism, blog or not. It read like a high school junior wrote it.

 

[Overrated]

"They have, without a doubt, the least intelligent, most obnoxious fans in the history of sports (by the way, readers can direct e-mails to Daily Progress Assistant Sports Editor Todd Merchant.)"

The guy can't even take the emails himself? What a vaj.

 

[Starman]

A lame attempt to imitate The Sports Guy, who, Allah knows, is plenty lame enough in the first place.

 

[Hammer Pants]

I think it was more just a case of a poorly written piece of journalism, blog or not. It read like a high school junior wrote it.

I didn't want to judge how well or poorly it was written ... it was the point that worried me. Surely most of us don't think blogs give us a forum for that, do we?

 

[SF_Express]

OK, a couple of things.

One, if you click on the assistant sports editor's e-mail link, it's really a mailto to the author. So he IS taking feedback himself, it's a joke, if perhaps a bad one.

And no, it's not well-written.

But blogs are for strong opinions and observations; if it's just "no-****" commentary, it doesn't serve much of a purpose. So yes, blogs DO give us a forum for that, short of tastelessness or libel.

This is neither, just not extremely well done.

 

[Hammer Pants]

OK, a couple of things.

One, if you click on the assistant sports editor's e-mail link, it's really a mailto to the author. So he IS taking feedback himself, it's a joke, if perhaps a bad one.

And no, it's not well-written.

But blogs are for strong opinions and observations; if it's just "no-****" commentary, it doesn't serve much of a purpose. So yes, blogs DO give us a forum for that, short of tastelessness or libel.

This is neither, just not extremely well done.

I guess I've always thought of blogs as a way for us to give a few opinions we couldn't give as beat writers, but not that much. I don't think it should give a beat guy a columnist's license. Maybe my way is wrong, but I can't imagine our SE being cool with stuff like that.

 

[Ace]

But blogs are for strong opinions and observations; if it's just "no-****" commentary, it doesn't serve much of a purpose. So yes, blogs DO give us a forum for that, short of tastelessness or libel.

I agree with SF. It's not news that Vols fans are obnoxious.

 

[SF_Express]

I guess I've always thought of blogs as a way for us to give a few opinions we couldn't give as beat writers, but not that much. I don't think it should give a beat guy a columnist's license. Maybe my way is wrong, but I can't imagine our SE being cool with stuff like that.

I hear what you're saying. But if you're going to accept blogs on their face, then you have to be willing to take strong opinion with it -- and not just opinions that leave you comfortable.

They can be very dangerous (intentionally overstrong word) because they're often unedited, and there's a certain trust level. But we let our people blog on whatever they want, and that includes some non-staff writers. They're just told to be factual, watch the libel and taste issues and try to make the copy clean. Beyond that, that's what blogs are about.

 

[SoCalDude]

I think it's another step toward the grave for our profession that somebody is paying somebody to write that crap.

 

[Ace]

I think it's another step toward the grave for our profession that somebody is paying somebody to write that crap.

Technically, if it is a blog, you shouldn't be paying someone to write it.

If that blog is a fan that is writing from a fan view, it's OK.

If it is a staffer, it's over the line in my view.

 

[SF_Express]

Technically, if it is a blog, you shouldn't be paying someone to write it.

Boy, then a lot of newspapers -- good ones -- are starting to go down a path you don't agree with then.

 

[Ace]

Technically, if it is a blog, you shouldn't be paying someone to write it.

Boy, then a lot of newspapers -- good ones -- are starting to go down a path you don't agree with then.

I am all for getting something for nothing.

At least our shop seems to think that there is some legal protection in letting bloggers say what they want and long as we don't pay them.

 

[SoCalDude]

The guy byline says he's a sportwriter for the Daily Progress. I assume they pay their sportswriters.

 

[SF_Express]

A number of paid staffers blog for the paper I read, and their top competitors.

You expect more responsibility out of those guys, of course.

 

[Ace]

The guy byline says he's a sportwriter for the Daily Progress. I assume they pay their sportswriters.

I bet they don't pay him extra to blog.

 

[BigRed]

That's way over the line. It breaks the tenet of "no cheering in the press box."
If he has those opinions, he needs to keep them to himself.
That's unprofessional and unnecessary.
Sure, Tennessee fans might be stupid, but you don't say it and couch it with the reasoning that you went to Vanderbilt.
It's petty and unbecoming.

 

[dooley_womack1]

As long as these blogs are being published under a newspaper's imprimateur, it has to be of a more circumspect quality than what some fanboy indy blogger would write. Plus it has to be above the level of a high school sophomore (I won't even give the guy junior quality).

 

[IGotQuestions]

"They have, without a doubt, the least intelligent, most obnoxious fans in the history of sports (by the way, readers can direct e-mails to Daily Progress Assistant Sports Editor Todd Merchant.)"

The guy can't even take the emails himself? What a vaj.

I read this to mean Merchant is a Tennessee grad or Tennessee fan. I agree with others: nothing inherently wrong with his opinion, just written too poorly.

 

[Ellis Redding]

Looking at the comments, most of which are coming from the Knoxville area (how did they even find out about this?), and it's not hard to agree with Reid's point.