Thursday, August 31, 2006
Miscellany on the brainy
It has been an introspective week in the Bluegrass. The tragic plane crash this past Sunday has put the local media front and center and that combined with a clip I recently saw on one of the few tv shows I watch (Jon Stewart and the Daily Show) where Geraldo Rivera and Bill O'Reilly were smugly berating Jon Stewart made me think about how the "news" has fallen so far in this 24hr news cycle. I think that after reading some of the comments from the editor of the BloodHorse, I hear some of that same smugness and it makes me wonder even more about the mainstream media. It seems ironic that Blogs merit criticism from such an esteemed publication. Everyone knows it is easy to take a pot shot but much more difficult to offer constructive criticism or even some encouragement tempered with helpful advice. It's a shame Mr. Paulick chose to do neither. I don't think he understands that blogs are begun for many different reasons, the last being to attempt to supplant professional journalists (although some bloggers do a fine job of that). I started mine to keep track of this great sport and what I was thinking about it, some notes about the horses we own and my daughter's interest in riding and just a chronicle of my thoughts really. I never meant for this to be read by much more than my immediate family and myself. I was pleasantly surprised to learn of the TBA and I began to regularly scan many of their blogs which offered entertaining posts with personal commentary and often first-hand accounts and news and perspective and a frame of reference you just don't get in the mainstream media. I think I will not be renewing my BloodHorse electronic subscription in favor of holding out for any paid content on a revised DRF website (courtesy of TBA's Railbird). I know Jessica "gets it" and I look forward to seeing her influcence on the DRF site. As for the BloodHorse, they will not miss my subscription but they are missing the point of blogs and they are missing serving racing fans who are online and who have something to offer horse racing.
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5 comments:
wow, i couldn't agree more, and i'm in full support
Pretty brainy for just miscellany...nice post
Excellent post, kj. Paulick's response was a disappointment but he does not speak for all horseplayers and turf writers. After I sent an email to Gary West for providing me some great information in one of my recent blogs, he wrote: "I think you and your friendly bloggers do the sport a great service by providing a forum for discussion, tossing out fresh ideas and relating your experiences at the track. Good job." So smile like you hit a Pick 4!
We will miss you as a subscriber. Please reconsider.
As for the smugness you cite in my comments about blogs, please remember I was only answering a question from an online reader about where I go for altnernative online sources. The question came from the kind of online reader you said The Blood-Horse is "missing serving"...the same ones we've been missing serving with Steve Haskin's terrific online reporting over the years, and the same ones we've been missing serving though they came to us in in great number to get updates on Barbaro.
I appreciate any racing fans with passion, and that's the one thing I've learned about the blogging community (whether it's racing or some other subject): passion drives them.
After reading some of the comments from Mr. Paulick, I must say that I may have judged too quickly. I will reconsider as that is the least I can do and after reading some comments, I do appreciate your position a bit better. Also, if you can relate to the Colbert "Your on Notice" posting, then maybe you do "get it". Anyway, we all probably need to stay together on the highest priority agenda item we all share and that is keeping the great sport of horse racing thriving and viable.
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