I, Ombudsman (well, not really)
The Springfield News-Leader has a nifty new website. It looks a lot better than the old site, but that’s not the best part. Anyone can have a blog at the News-Leader.
Because I have an international audience (stop snickering), I rarely mention local issues. Well, I’ve started a blog on the site called Rhetorica @ The News-Leader specifically to deal with local issues–particularly involving the paper.
When the new site opened I had this deliciously evil idea: I can play (unofficial) ombudsman.
BuWhahahahaha!
Okay, that’s waaaaaay over-playing it and bit demeaning to the really important work ombudsmen do. In a very importance sense, there cannot be an unofficial ombudsman because for that position to work one has to be accepted by journalist and citizen alike. There’s a very real possibility that no one will give a rip about what I have to say.
Further, interactivity allows everyone to talk back to the news media–a development I fully support. There’s no reason to suppose my input will be any better than others’. Yes, I have some credentials. There’s nothing like earning a Ph.D. to teach you how much you don’t know.
But that presents me with an interesting challenge.
I offer anything I have to say at the News-Leader with a big FWIW. It will be entirely up to me to make it worth something.
This should go without saying (and I offer Rhetorica as evidence): I love newspapers, and I love journalists (I married one… well not because she is a journalist). Let’s see what happens.
I’ve looked at the News-Leader website and find it very difficult to navigate. I’d looked at the earlier version, and it was much more friendly if one’s intent was to find and read news stories. However, I note that the News-Leader’s new website is almost identical to new websites put up by other Gannett newspapers, so I guess it must be a corporate design rather than something local. Anyway, I hope you find it useful for expanding your audience. And it will be interesting to observe if the News-Leader will tolerate criticism in your unofficial role as ombusdman.
Walter… Yes, I suspect it’s a corporate design.
I’m sure they will tolerate it. The question is: Will they care? The N-L really has no choice but to tolerate critics at this point considering how the site has been set up. My goal, however, is not to simply piss on their product. I hope to offer constructive insight and advice. I’ll also praise what I find praiseworthy.
OK, I give up. Where can one find your “unofficial ombudsman” blog on the ridiculous new News-Leader site?
Walter… The link works for me, but it may be because I have my computer set to automatically log in. The blog portion of the site is terribly clunky. There is no central index. I’ll try to figure something out and post it here asap. Until then just click the “blog” tab you see on the sidebar on the N-L site. You’ll find the most recently updated blogs.