13WHAM: Sources Say Kuhl's Running

I've been hoping. I've been praying. And Evan Dawson's colleague, Sean Carroll, is reporting on WHAM's blog that "at least four Republican sources" told him that Congressman Kuhl will announce his re-election bid on Friday. I hope they're right, but since Sean doesn't name any of his sources, I have no idea if they're reliable, so I guess we'll still have to wait until Friday to find out officially (I'm not knocking Sean's reporting here, I'm sure his sources are trustworthy, I guess I don't want to launch into premature celebration, so I'll remain cautiously optimistic for the next two days).

As for Sean's suggestion that there might be a GOP primary if Kuhl's running again, I highly doubt it. Granted, anything in politics is possible, but it's a bit too late in the season to challenge an incumbent congressman, especially when Republicans have to rally behind a candidate very early on in this swing district. The Republicans in Ontario County are all behind Congressman Kuhl, and frankly, to have a shot at winning in November, the victor must win, well, Victor and other swing townships in the second largest and fastest growing county in the district!

Blogversation II: How is the Media Evolving?

Rottenchester has a good roundup of our blogversation here, along with his response to the latest question Evan has posed to us: "Where do you guys see the traditional media (and more specifically, the traditional local media) evolving? And perhaps more importantly, where is the traditional media currently failing in its coverage, style, or presentation?"

One does not need to perform an endless Google search on the subject to discover that national newspaper circulation and network evening news viewership are dwindling to the point that these news sources can be classified as endangered species, while nontraditional media, be it online, radio, or cable nets, are all on the rise. Here's a great article by George Will from 2005 on the subject, where he concludes:

The future of the big media that the young have abandoned is not certain. But do you remember when an automobile manufacturer, desperately seeking young customers, plaintively promised that its cars were "not your father's Oldsmobile"? Do you remember Oldsmobiles?

When it comes to the national MSM, there's no question that the drop in its consumers will continue at a fast pace. With internet users continually on the rise, why would people continue to pay for stale national/global news and a handful of opinion columns in the New York Times when they merely need to type in a few words on Google to find a plethora of news items and thousands of political commentators offering their unique insights on the day's events? Plus, if they still want to read the Times, they can merely visit its website and keep their hands ink-stained free. And why would people want to continue to wait for the NBC Nightly News just to see the same news reported throughout the day on the cable nets and online?

However, when it comes to local news, the situation is much different. Rottenchester is right that there is a rise in alternative media in the area (our blogs included), but certainly not at the level of national media sources. For example, throughout the day, I mostly follow national news online through nontraditional sources (e.g., Drudge Report, RealClearPolitics, various blogs, and then later in the day, Rush Limbaugh's website as I can't listen to his program at work usually), but for my local news, I'll go to the D&C's and Daily Messenger's websites (though I'm sure most people in the area get the paper edition) and watch the local news at night. I also read Fighting 29th and Rochesterturning daily, but more to see what they're saying about the local stories rather than as my source for local news.

So while I see national traditional media dying out, on the local level, Evan Dawson is safe with his day job for now.

As for ways in which the local media can improve, it's hard to say. Most of the major newspapers and networks have decent websites, and have been adding blogs to their online news coverage, WHAM especially. But some have committed a few unfortunate errors in their pursuits to move into the online community. The D&C's RocPets website comes to mind (I mean, really, did they have to create another forum for people to post mindless pictures of their pets?).

Blogversation I: Do I Consider Myself a Journalist?

As you will see from Rottenchester's latest post, 13WHAM's Evan Dawson has asked local bloggers to participate in a "blogversation," and the first topic we will cover is answering the following question: "Do you consider yourselves journalists?"

I decided to consult my copy of The American Heritage College Dictionary (Third Edition) to get a definition for the word "journalist," which is defined as follows: 1. One whose occupation is journalism. 2. One who keeps a journal. In trying to determine my status as a "journalist," my first concern was determining whether my writing this blog is my "occupation," given my assumption that Evan wasn't asking whether we consider our blogs a type of diary. So I looked up the word "occupation," and found this definition: 1.a. An activity that is one's regular source of livelihood; a vocation. b. An activity engaged in esp. as a pastime; an avocation. Clearly my blogging does not fall under the first part of the definition, i.e., I have a day job that actually makes me money and has nothing to do with my blog, but my blogging certainly falls under the second part in that a synonym for "avocation" is "hobby."

Now that I've proved that I can be "occupied" as a journalist, I now need to determine whether my writings on this blog can be considered "journalism," which is defined as follows: 1. The collecting, writing, editing, and presentation of news or news articles. 2. Material written for publication in a newspaper or magazine or for broadcast. 3. The style of writing characteristic of newspapers and magazines, marked by the direct presentation of facts. 4. Newspapers and magazines. 5. An academic course in journalism. 6. Written material of current interest or popular appeal. While it's debatable whether what I engage in here falls under the first three definitions (which is what most people think of when they hear the word "journalism"), and it's clear that it does not fall under the fourth and fifth definitions, there is no question that my blog posts fall under the last, looser definition. Therefore, because my blogger status falls under the definition of "journalist," and unlike some occupations, e.g., doctors or lawyers, one does not necessarily need to attend a special school or hold a license to call oneself a "journalist," then I would answer the above question in the affirmative.

UPDATE: In my haste to reply to Evan's initial question, I forgot to answer a followup question he had posed on whether I was impressed with the liberal Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo for winning this year's George Polk Award for Legal Reporting, the first time that a blogger has won this prestigious award. The conservative in me is not a fan of the award's advisory panel consistently honoring liberal journalists, but the blogger in me is proud to see a fellow blogger, regardless of his ideology, win such an award, so kudos to Mr. Marshall.

Ontario County's Growth

13WHAM's Evan Dawson has a great story on Ontario County's growth compared to most of the region, along with a blog post about the Eastview Mall in Victor. It's great to read and watch stories like these about Ontario.

Dawson emailed me a few days ago to get my input on the story, and here was my response:

I think the Progressive Farmer put it best in 2006 by ranking Ontario County the "Best Place to Live" in the United States, because of its: "Great schools. Low crime. Excellent health care." I'm not originally from here, having grownup downstate and then living a few years in DC, but I fell in love with the area after meeting my then girlfriend (now fiancee) who's from the region. It's a beautiful county, right in the middle of the Finger Lakes region and New York State's wine country, and with its closeness to the third largest city in the state, Ontario County offers a unique opportunity to residents who commute to Rochester but want to live in either a rural or suburban setting. Besides, where else in America can one get a slice of delicious grape pie?

WHAM Followup

Evan Dawson replied to my comments on Rottenchester's blog here (just scroll down through the comments), and I replied to his. Perhaps my use of the word "bias" was too strong in this matter, and I appreciate Evan for taking the time to reply. As I stated in my reply to him, "In the past, when I have criticized other media outfits in their reporting of stories (particularly the local papers), I never received a single response from them, so I'm glad you took the time to reply."

While I may still disagree about how this story was portrayed, having the reporter in question follow up with the bloggers on this was very helpful, and even though I normally watch WROC 8 for my local news, Evan, through his thoughtful followup, has given me reasons to watch his network instead.