n&o

The public editor of New York Times today set off a firestorm in the blogosphere for asking a ridiculous question about whether the paper should become a "truth vigilante" in producing news for its vaunted pages. Thousands of comments have poured into the paper's website, the vast majority of which could be summed up with a single word: Duh.

As a journalism school grad and the husband of a J-school professor, I followed the discussion with much interest and occasional amusement, until I came across a diary at Daily Kos tonight which had me rolling on the floor. Well, not literally rolling on the floor, more like chuckling.

If you're in the mood for some serious snark, take a look, and them come back so I can wrap up this post for you.

John Frank, Lynn Bonner, Rob Christensen. Come on, guys. The flap over Governor Perdue's joke about neverending political campaigns is beneath you. Kudos to Chris Mackey for calling you out.

Previously.

Ouch. Little Ricky is now "the News and Observer's" Rick Martinez. The stench is contagious.

The latest attempt to absolve Republican legislative leaders of any responsibility for all the pink slips flying into teachers’ mailboxes across the state comes from the News & Observer’s Rick Martinez, whose latest column reads like an only slightly rewritten press release from the office of House Speaker Thom Tillis

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The N&O's continuing reliance on this fact-free tool of Art Pope is an embarrassment to its long tradition of responsible editorial leadership. Please write Steve Ford (steve.ford@newsobserver.com) and encourage him to Dump the Skunk.

One week ago we instituted a new policy banning links to the Raleigh News and Observer at BlueNC. The policy was created in response to the newspaper's reliance on propaganda from the Show on its editorial pages in general, with a specific concern over the use of WPTF's Rick Martinez as an op-ed columnist. For my part, the new policy has been a breeze. It's been easy to find important stories at other sites, with the added benefit of being able to uncover fresh, new sources of information. That said, I'd welcome the chance to resume linking to the Old Reliable. All they need to do is Dump Little Ricky.

As a J-school junkie and political worry wart, I feel a sense of desperation about newspaper journalism in North Carolina. I believe our state's newspapers may be the last bastion of thoughtfulness for many communities. They remind me of canaries in coal mines.

If you think The Show already has too much influence on content at the N&O, just watch what happens when the paper loses another round of reporters. Soon Art Pope will be the number one content source for the entire operation. Sad news for us all, but especially for those staffers caught in the crossfire.

The News & Observer will eliminate about 20 jobs in the latest cost-cutting effort by the Raleigh-based media company. The staff reductions announced today will affect most areas of the company, including the newsroom. Some employees will have the opportunity to accept voluntary severance packages, but a few positions will be eliminated through layoffs.

The N&O's excellent coverage.

It is a practice so commonplace, so entirely unremarkable in our imperial government, that no one bats an eyelash. Not even the most well-connected political reporter in the state. A culture of privilege.

When state Sen. Neal Hunt, a Republican from Raleigh, introduced a resolution last month, he thought it was "a no-brainer." He was doing it as a favor for a friend, attorney Arch Allen, a former Wake County Republican chairman, whose late wife was a descendant of Holden.

He was doing a favor for a friend. A rich, white Republican friend.

How many friends do you think Neal Hunt has who are poor, black, Hispanic, or homeless? How many of those friends do you think Neal Hunt is doing favors for in the legislature?

He is not doing any favors for me. I'm not one of Neal Hunt's friends. And like all the other people in North Carolina who are not his friends, I don't matter.