Man, I love it when Randell Beck gets on his soap box, he should just start putting his column in the comics section of the newspaper. I think his latest column is more HYSTERICAL then his parody about Dan Scott;
I’ve said it before — and probably will again: The noise in today’s media-rich environment is nearly deafening. You and I have more information barreling at us, from more directions, than ever before.
And most of it, frankly, is junk — press releases, regurgitated on an organization’s web site as “news,†pretending to be journalism; hysterical claims, of one kind or another, from countless jokers with a laptop and an axe to grind; and Associated Press stories reworded to masquerade as “local†coverage.
Remember: When it comes to quality news and information — journalism — you get what you pay for. Or to put it another way: If it’s free, there’s a reason.
First off, I only have ONE axe to grind, it’s with corrupt politicians, and I think it is pretty good one to grind.
Secondly, let’s talk about ‘hysterical claims’;
Did you hear Costco is coming to town? Schwan reported that first.
Yes she did, but most people in the business community knew about it weeks ago, including myself. Is it an important story? Sure. Just like Applebees opening another restaurant. But not ground breaking, that’s why this hysterical blogger never bothered to write anything about it ahead of time.
Did you hear about the casino proposal to the city that the mayor turned down? South DaCola reported that first.
Did you hear the Democrats helped with De Knudson’s campaign and tried to help out other candidates? South DaCola reported that first.
What about the EC naming rights debacle? Yup, you guessed it, South DaCola tipped off the news media about that one to (that is still a developing story).
There is a reason why newspaper readership is down – why pay for breaking news when you can read it for free on a blog? In fact, ever since the Non-Free online newspaper started charging for online subscriptions I have more and more people tell me they read my site to get news about Sioux Falls including a mayor from another prominent city in South Dakota.
Do I sometimes ‘speculate too much?’ I do, and I have been wrong in the past, and have corrected those mistakes with updates. Some people ask me why I put certain speculation out there before I have the whole story? The answer is simple, I WANT YOU to ask questions of your elected officials, I want you to get involved, I want you to dispel the rumors, I want you involved with your community. That is why I started South DaCola and why I continue to blog. I care about citizen rights, and I know the MSM in SF doesn’t always cover the whole story. That’s where you and I come in. Be diligent, be informed, that requires an effort from you, unless you prefer to be spoon fed by our local media. I don’t sit in a high chair any more, and I’m sure you don’t either.
BTW, I wrote this post on a desktop computer. Laptops annoy me just as much as arrogant newspaper publishers.