Lakeland Local

nobody@vox.com(LakelandLocal) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:01:32 -0700

Lakeland Local

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Autograph

Posted: 28 Aug 2008 04:40 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/376992346/

photo credit: Tom Hagerty

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Why Not the News-Chief & The Ledger?

Posted: 27 Aug 2008 10:28 PM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/376757385/

You might have missed this on the Ledger Web site:

The Gainesville Sun and Ocala Star-Banner will merge news operations, according to an announcement by executives of both papers Monday. News and copy desk functions, design, layout and pagination for the two papers will be done in Gainesville.

That was the whole article. I cant understand how I missed it. It was published in prime time: Tuesday at 11:15 pm. They dropped it in between Florida, Michigan Delegates Forgiven With Prime Seating At Convenion(sic) and Man Charged With Assault Over Butter. I dont remember seeing one of those cute BREAKING NEWS tags most often used when Brittney stubs her toe.

The Ledger story omits some important details. Most importantly that both the Sun and the Star-Banner are owned by the New York Times Company. The same group that owns the Ledger and the News-Chief. I cant understand why the NY Times Company didnt supply the Ledger reporter with a few more details. You would think the New York Times Company would throw a bone to their compadres.

At least the Ledger published the story about 90 minutes before the Herald-Tribune, another NY Times Company newspaper, published their version. The Herald-Tribune did announce the papers were owned by the NY Times Company, and some other details.

If it makes sense to combine staff from towns about 40 miles apart, why not combine staff from two papers less than half that distance apart? It would be a logical step toward dropping the recently purchased News-Chief.

We must now ask the accountants at the Ledger and the honchos at the News-Chief: How long before we hear the same news from your offices?

photo credit: lakelandlocal

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Back to School

Posted: 27 Aug 2008 08:01 AM CDT
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photo credit: Tom Hagerty

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nobody@vox.com(LakelandLocal) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:02:11 -0700

Lakeland Local

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7am-7pm Make Your Voice Heard

Posted: 26 Aug 2008 08:13 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/375206568/

Polls to vote are open today, August 26, 2008 from 7am to 7pm. The results are typically posted on the Supervisor of Elections web site for the state and Polk County.

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nobody@vox.com(LakelandLocal) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:01:32 -0700

Lakeland Local

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Mirror, Mirror on the Lake

Posted: 25 Aug 2008 11:58 PM CDT
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photo credit: Tom Hagerty

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nobody@vox.com(LakelandLocal) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 03:01:31 -0700

Lakeland Local

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Oh Say Can You C?

Posted: 24 Aug 2008 10:18 PM CDT
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photo credit: lakelandlocal2

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Inside A Funny Republican Support Group

Posted: 24 Aug 2008 11:41 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/373539431/

Somehow, I have become included on the email list of a major Polk Republican kingmaker, donor and general person-about-the-county. And Ive started receiving blast forwards of tidbits designed to rally the troops.

Thats understandable. Times are about as tough as they can get for the folks who sit astride Polk County like colossuses. The development economy has collapsed, and theres a good chance the country will elect a secret Muslim, terrorist fist-bumping representative of polyglot America who may increase their taxes.

And judging from some of the names included in this support list, there may be more than a few of these folks who can empathize with forgetting how many houses they inherited.

Anyway, I hope they keep including me on this list, because these viral emails are most entertaining.

The first was this YouTube clip of a U.S. representative extolling the virtues of offshore oil drilling and opening up ANWR.

The breathless tagline from the email was: This video from Congress is an eyeopener folks. ITS GONNA KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF!!! The MEDIA did not tell us about this speech in CONGRESS!

What the email didnt mention was the identity of that congressman: Don Young of Alaska. Hes under federal investigation for wrongdoing in connection to, wait for it: an oil services company. Its the same investigation that just indicted Alaska senator Ted Stevens. I guess forgetting to mention that fact is understandable, given that Republican politicians believe so strongly in the presumption of innocence.

Clip number two is a Republican party-produced montage of Democrats saying nasty things about Saddam Hussein in the years before the Iraqis invasion. They called it: Et tu Democrats.

Says one support group member: THIS COUNTRY NEEDS TO RUN THIS VIDEO OVER AND OVER UNTIL ALL OF US FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON! The next time you hear the expression. Bushs war remember this video!!!

And here I thought all along Republicans were proud of Bushs War. Isnt that what they ran on in 2004? When did all your rock-ribbed, upstanding real American smack turn into its the Democrats fault for enabling us? Man up, and take responsibility for your own disasters. Isnt that what conservatism is supposed to be about?

Along those lines, heres the most recent and my favorite of the emails, under the subject line: Another convert.

I was talking to a friend of mines six-year-old little girl, and she said she wanted to be President some day. Both of her parents, liberal Democrats, were standing there, so I asked her, If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?

She replied, Id give houses to all the homeless people. Wow - what a worthy goal, I told her,

But you dont have to wait until youre President to do that. You can come over to my house and mow, pull weeds, and sweep my yard, and I ll pay you $50. Then Ill take you over to the grocery store where the homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $50 to use toward a new house.

She thought that over for a few seconds cause shes only 6. And while her Mom glared at me, she looked me straight in the eye and asked, Why doesnt the homeless guy come over and do the work, and you can just pay him the $50?

And I said, Welcome to the Republican Party.

Her folks still arent talking to me.

1) Clearly, the Republicans have developed a powerful strategy for locking in the all-important soft-hearted 6-year-old swing vote. The remainder of the converts, even in Polk County, seem to be headed in the other direction. But never let the facts get in the way of a good subject line.

2) Its a good thing that Lakelands Republican-dominated government and civic establishment embraces this tough-love, teach-a-man-to-fish ethic so endemic to the Republican identity. Youll never have to worry about this Republican city becoming a destination of choice for homeless people across the state. Lakeland would never accept the warehousing of other cities homeless populations in its downtown core. Uhhhh, well, OK. Nevermind.

3) This is what the so-called party of Lincoln, party of Reagan has become? A bunch of masters of the universe hanging their hats on fictional stories about 6-year-old girls to remember they used to claim self-reliance matters? Im no libertarian. The public needs services. Those services need to be paid for, by taxes. The debate should be over which services and which taxes are necessary.

But lets be very, very clear: Its Republicans that have jacked up taxes in this county. Period. It was Bruce Parker and Bob English who pushed those taxes most forcefully. And one could argue convincingly that they were right to do so. But one cannot simultaneously argue that they represent a party that cares a whit about letting you keep more of your own money. Such a Republican party does not exist. How many of the Republican bigwigs in this support group do you think have Bob English signs in their yards?

You think any of the members of this Republican sewing circle think CSX ought to go pick weeds somewhere in Florida to justify the $600 million plus were all paying to allow it to dominate shipping in the state? The fact is, at this twilight of the Republican revolution, the conservative ethic has become to treat government as risk-free, interest-free bank designed to squelch free-market competition and generate more wealth for the people lucky enough to inherit it.

Really, where have all the Republicans gone? I miss them.

It would be sad if it wasnt so funny.

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nobody@vox.com(LakelandLocal) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 03:01:17 -0700

Lakeland Local

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Moving from Lakeland to Louisville

Posted: 24 Aug 2008 03:20 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/373304980/

Those who know a little of my history know my family and I moved to Lakeland from Louisville, Kentucky. The other day I stumbled over the blog of a Lakeland native who has reversed that trip.

Chuck Anderson moved last week from Lakeland to attend Southern Seminary in Louisville. Hes been asked to write for the college student written blog, Said at Southern. The editor wrote Anderson will report on his experiences as a freshman at the seminary as well as other topics. In addition to his work on Said at Southern, Anderson maintains a personal blog.

Im sure his family and friends will follow his experiences, and I hope theyre not too shocked when he comes home for summer break and mentions his time in Lullavull. The accent is far too easy to unconsciously adopt.

On Tuesday, August 12, my parents and I went to Starbucks for breakfast, then spent the day exploring the city. First, we took visited Churchill Downs and took a behind-the-scenes tour. What an interesting place and expensive place! If you want to see the race the cheap seats are expensive, and due to the location of the cheap seats you cant see very much of it. And the whole place is designed to direct you toward the wagering windows. From Moving in at Southern Seminary

photo credit: six steps 

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Twilight of the Tigers

Posted: 24 Aug 2008 03:02 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/373286368/

photo credit: Tom Hagerty

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Downtown Lakelands General Store

Posted: 23 Aug 2008 11:42 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/372813455/

Special to Lakeland Local by Petra Norris

If you have not discovered Downtown Lakeland’s newest old store that has everything from Band-Aids Fix-A-Flat to Marlboros Toiletries, Ice Cream, Chick-O-Sticks Moonpies to Gift Baskets, Pet Toy’s Ice Cold Grape Crush, even Nostalgic Toys (no batteries required) Historical Lakeland gifts why don’t you join me and discover it now as I share with you the nostalgia of Lakeland, Florida’s only “real” General Store. Terisa Glover and Terry Lauretta, long time friends, decided in 2007 that it was now or never to open up what Downtown Lakeland really needed - Groceries, Sundries Memories.

Located at 125 South Kentucky Avenue in historical downtown Lakeland, the store is within walking distance from Munn Park and Lake Mirror and nestled near children’s museum, hotels, restaurants, cafés and specialty shops like clothing, antiques, pottery and art galleries. Folks from all over the world have visited and purchased items from this General Store. People stop by and ask for directions or have questions, which are kindly answered with a smile.

Within recent years, Lakeland’s downtown revitalization program brought new businesses, apartments, condos and lofts. People spend their lunch time to stop by grab a snack and say hello to Terisa and Sparky. I asked Terisa what makes this store so special to the people who live and work downtown Lakeland? She replied that the store is also therapy to people that work in downtown Lakeland. She watches folks who are a little bit stressed, come to her store to sit outside in the rocking chair. Starting by intensely rocking back and forth and soon soothing to the gentle glide of the rocking chair before heading back to work.

So, if you are in need for some therapy, why don’t you “Come By and Rock a Spell”, have a session with “Sparky the Therapist” or play a game of checkers.

What makes this store so unique? It’s not about pricing or the extra value you would get if you compare The General Store with Wal-Mart or Target. It’s about personality of the people working in this store and about the store itself, a small locally owned business. Its about patronizing because you want it to be successful.

Location, location, location….. if you happen to be living, working, or spending time downtown, you will soon realize that the nearest Wal-Mart, Publix and Target are not within walking distance, especially if you forgot to bring home milk or bread. Why not leave behind the stress of driving your car, contribute to the environment and your health by walking to the store. The very friendly clerk will surely appreciate your patronage.

Known for carrying items such as milk, bread, sodas, toys – no batteries required, the general store also has home grown items, such as Lakeland’s Countrybees honey, homemade salsas and grilling salsas like “Hot Wachula’s”.

One of Lakeland Florida unique gems “The General Store” is open Monday – Friday from 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Their phone number is (863) 688-5900 and they also have a MySpace page.

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Find Petra Norris original General Store article (with photos!) on her website: Lakeland Real Estate Blog. Norris is a Lakeland-based Realtor.

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nobody@vox.com(LakelandLocal) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 03:01:21 -0700

Lakeland Local

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Addiction, impulse buying or both?

Posted: 23 Aug 2008 03:01 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/372550647/

For the past few days every time I see beef jerky or stop at a convince store, I have to buy it. How did I become addicted? It all started with a road trip to nowhere (literally) last weekend. I was the passenger and two of us drove around Lakeland, Tampa, Lakeland again, then to Winter Haven and back - what a waste of gas! I wish I had taken my camera. Tampa has some awesome night life. Anyways, so how much is this addiction costing me? Probably the same amount you spend at Starbucks everyday if not more. Do I want to stop? Ive tried its hard. Do I just quit cold turkey or what? How do I stop?

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Numero Uno

Posted: 23 Aug 2008 02:45 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/372541940/

Ryan Perry, the Detroit Tigers 2008 #1 draft pick, joined the Lakeland Flying Tigers on July 28th. Catch Central Florida has the details.

photo credit: Tom Hagerty

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Paging the Lakeland Chamber

Posted: 22 Aug 2008 11:43 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/372012404/

Now that John McCains 4, 7, 10, or 11 luxury homes have become a presidential campaign issue, I expect the Chambers political action committee to weigh in at any time. Although, unlike Justin Troller, McCain appears not to have bought any of the houses himself.

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Ahem

Posted: 22 Aug 2008 07:40 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/371839367/

Tom Hagerty is an immensely talented photographer, who adds drama and beauty daily to our little corner of cyberspace. All that being said, my inner 15-year-old cannot resist noting the, ah, Freudian, quality of his latest photo.

Its like a Levitra ad. Stand on guard indeed.

We hereby return you to your regularly scheduled family-friendly programming.

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nobody@vox.com(LakelandLocal) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 03:01:39 -0700

Lakeland Local

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We Stand on Guard for Thee

Posted: 22 Aug 2008 03:11 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/371692166/

photo credit: Tom Hagerty

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Tired of Rabbit Ears & No DTV

Posted: 21 Aug 2008 09:49 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/370991596/

Get this - I dont have cable (gasp) I know I know I had rabbit ears, they died. I bought new ones as I figured for $45 they would work and were extra strength. Yeah right, they did not. I must be in a crapy signal area. I kept seeing the TV commercials for DTV so I signed up for the coupons. Once they arrived in 4-6 weeks I bought the converter box. Well it turns out I dont get a signal even with the converter box. Most stations are keeping it their signal on low strength till the switch. Crap. I went from a few good stations to NONE. I want TV with a clean signal NOW. My last option? Besides not watching TV -never- get cable. After doing some research on Verizon FiOS, Bright House and Direct TV I found a price that I liked, after all when it comes to paying for TV Im cheap! So now I have a clean signal and cable (with free HBO for a month)! Im almost in the 21st century now.

(thanks Shawn, Mr. FiOS Man)

photo credit: Petra M.V.

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nobody@vox.com(LakelandLocal) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:02:01 -0700

Lakeland Local

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Hey, Jack, Whats That Sound?

Posted: 21 Aug 2008 04:17 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/370772570/

There was an odd little comment made by Polk County Commissioner Jack Myers last week. it was ably reported by the Ledgers Tom Palmer:

Just seconds before the Transportation Planning Organization adjourned today, County Commissioner Jack Myers blurted out something about living not far from the CSX tracks in Auburndale and not being bothered by the sound of the passing trains.

That caught County Commissioner Jean Reed,who lives not far from the proposed CSX freight terminal in Winter Haven, by surprise. She could be heard saying she wanted to respond, but by then the microphones had been turned off. CSX fun and games

You might wonder how far Myers lives from those tracks? What about Reed? Polk County election records, property appraisers records, and 10 minutes with Google maps and I can give you an approximate answer:

Jack Myers home has nice thick walls.

(Im guessing. Ive seen it only on a satellite photo.)

Myers lives near the interchange where the CSX S-Line and the A-Line converge. He is approximately 3400 feet from that intersection, but closer to the A-line at 2160 feet. Now, if the commuter rail plan goes through, A-Line traffic will reduce, if not dry up, near Myers home.

Commissioner Reed? She is approximately 2142 feet from the CSX tracks. Reed is also about 8.5 miles closer than Myers to the proposed Winter Haven Rail Center.

What can we conclude from all this?

How did a discussion about trains blocking traffic become one about noise?

Click that link and youll find an article I wrote 14 months ago. That makes one still wonder: why do rail proponents keep mentioning noise when opponents bring up traffic?

Its an old tactic best known as a Red Herring. You might call it a smoke screen. By either name it is a fallacy of logic. Its an effort to direct attention away from the true argument:

The Winter Haven Rail Hub will negatively impact auto traffic on State Road 60 and miles away in Lakeland, Ocala, and other Florida communities. Moving freight traffic from the A-Line to the S-Line will negatively impact auto traffic in many communities.

Id call that a regional impact? Wouldnt you?

photo credit: shadeofmelon

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Rain Delay

Posted: 21 Aug 2008 12:45 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/370643147/

photo credit: Tom Hagerty

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Fight Breast Cancer - Free Beer and BBQ Remix

Posted: 20 Aug 2008 03:24 PM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/370274529/

The Save the Puppies crew has an update regarding the Gong Show charity event announced Monday:

To get more contestants the group is lowering the entrance fee: Pay $30 and $20 will go to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Three Day Walk. The other $10 will go toward a reduced First Prize.

Wait, theres more!

According to one of the organizers, Every act gets to drink free beer all night long and eats free bbq.

With one caveat: You can have as many people in your act, but only 3 of them will be able to drink free beer.*

Now, before anyone wants to perform The Full Monty they should read the fine print: Your act can be whatever you think will impress the judges and win… pretty much no rules… but you do need to keep most of your clothes on.

They need all acts confirmed by 8/25/08.

* Dont forget your designated driver.

photo credit: Jeremy Fulton

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nobody@vox.com(LakelandLocal) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:02:03 -0700

Lakeland Local

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Hold That Tiger

Posted: 20 Aug 2008 03:16 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/369782982/

photo credit: Tom Hagerty

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Tribune, Ledger (And Everybody Else) Agonistes: The De-professionalization of News

Posted: 19 Aug 2008 04:19 PM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/369371201/

This is a little long, so bear with me - or dont, depending on your taste.

Its more timely now with the news of The Ledgers job cuts and religion editor Cary McMullens column last Saturday lamenting the demise of religious reporting and the specific layoff of well-known and respected Orlando Sentinel religious reporter Mark Pinsky. But honestly, its hard to find a week that doesnt accentuate the decline of institutional print journalism.

I want to focus on a few weeks ago, when a young intern with the Tampa Tribune named Jessica DeSilva set off an online kerfuffle. She posted on her blog an account of Executive Editor Janet Coats staff meeting detailing a newsroom reorganization that included a dozen or so layoffs. All the casualties were reporters or line level copyeditors, if I understand it correctly. At the time, I had just left for my new corporate writing job in Tampa along with a few other Tribune refugees. (My new employer, who I will not mention here by name, makes a funny sort of journalism culture war cameo in Jessicas post.) A number of other longtime reporters and editors had just taken a voluntary buyout. The atmosphere for that gathering must have been morgue-like.

Enter Jessica, who I dont think I ever met before I left. She seems enthusiastic and smart, and her post was gripping. She defended Janet and her newsroom re-org and her unapologetic emphasis on online content over print. It was the old reform or die speech I myself have given self-importantly over the years to rolling eyes or shrugs or a mirror. But it was nice to see a young reporter write with passion about journalism. Even before the traditional newspaper model passed the event horizon of its black hole, far too many professional reporters approached their jobs with far too little excitement and far too much contempt for the public and readers they claimed to serve.

That being said, Jessicas Janet hagiography was a little much. And I say that as someone who has been generally pro-Janet. Money passage:

Janet believes in the news industry. She believes in holding government, media and the public accountable. And she knows there is not another job that makes such a huge difference and wields such power. News organizations offer society so much, and that is why she cannot take another job - because journalism is her calling, and she knows there is nothing else she could ever imagine herself doing.

“It’s worth fighting for,” Janet said.

Out of all her quotable moments, those were the words that stuck with me. It was that powerful statement that conveyed the hope, faith and prayers of all journalists worldwide. That maybe this industry can’t be demolished because of its importance and that maybe our love and passion for it could be enough to keep it running.

Well, it’s going to take more than love and passion. That love and passion must move us to find solutions to keep our industry, our jobs and our identities alive and well. Still, it’s going to take passionate people like Janet Coats to figure it out.

The gauzy lighting on the woman who had just dropped the executioners axe on 10 human beings with families and bills made Jessica something of a target. The post got passed around various journoblogs and sparked hundreds of comments. Some praised Jessica, but most debated whether she was a simpering suckup or just a naïve teenybopper. Good times. Dont ask what they said about Janet.

Wayne Garcia with Creative Loafing picked up on the…whatever this was and wrote an engaging, elegiac story about the state of newspapers in the Bay Area. Heres the link.

Which finally brings me to my point: This entire episode consisted almost completely of reporters and editors talking/yelling to/at each other. And I think, with apologies to everyone involved, the discussion could hardly have been less relevant to the overarching problem facing institutional journalism, which is this:

Mass audiences dont pay to read content. They never have, at least not since the rise of free television.

Advertisers, who have funded the major newspapers, have never cared about journalism. They paid for the press – the means to reach a mass audience. With the rise of the web and Google, advertisers can now reach almost infinitely larger audiences with measurable, local precision. The marriage of journalism and advertising, which I think never existed, is undergoing an ugly, irreversible divorce.

In writing about the departure of the Sentinels Pinsky, a best-selling author in his own right, McMullen says: With a resume like that, you would assume that this was a guy any news organization would want to hang on to. But these days, newspapers cant afford prestige, it seems.

Thats exactly correct.

There is no way for Janet Coats, or anyone else, to redesign or repackage a way out of this economic and logistical reality and generate enough cash flow to pay for the buildings print news organizations own, the people they pay and insure, and the bonuses the executives reward themselves with. Journalists and institutional news executives, if they want to preserve the public service element of their business, need to stop talking to each other and talk frankly to their local readers and civic establishments.

In the Tribunes case, executives should make it clear to readers, as well as the Chamber of Commerce, USF, local foundations and government, the Tampa Bay partnership and anyone else who has a stake in Bay area information, that the Tribune and the service it provides will cease to exist soon without a radical new community arrangement.

If no new financial arrangement with the community emerges, I predict that within five years, the quasi non-profit St. Pete Times will absorb whats left of the for-profit Trib and create a single institutional news organization for the bay - call it the Tampa Bay Times-Tribune. Itll put out a print tab daily or semi-daily and maybe a big traditional Sunday paper, and the rest will focus on online reporting. Who knows how long that will last?

With no organization in a position to absorb it in Polk County, I expect The Ledger will cease to produce a print product within that same time horizon. It needs to have all the same conversations the Trib needs to. Indeed, every news organization needs to ask its community if the community wants to continue to exist.

I expect nationwide you will begin to see cities lose their daily print newspapers, or at there will be least a wave of bankruptcies that allow them restructure as something radically smaller and different. But its not just print. Under the current models, serious local and state online reporting doesnt pay for itself either. Its not newspapers that face a very real death very soon - its institutional journalism, the centralized daily coverage of city hall and crime and whose daughter is singing at Carnegie Hall and whose Little League team is undefeated.

If news executives cant find someone to pay for these stories, they will be left to blogs and aggregations of hobbyists like Lakeland Local; or haphazard freelancing; or to a throwaway employee of Google. Or nothing but word of mouth and TV. And soon.

In some ways, if you put aside the very real personal trauma for the very real people losing their jobs and careers, its possible to see some upside to the de-professionalization of news. I think virtually everyone would agree that the mainstream newspaper and television news industry have become calcified, dull, and at times, actively harmful to the supposed mission of informing people. In print, weve labored under these semi-religious tenets concerning neutrality and objectivity that the readers are now telling us with their money and feet they cant care less about.

There’s nothing wrong with objectivity, of course, except that it is often false. And I think many of our readers, of all ideological, political and cultural stripes are largely convinced, correctly, that we collectively and individually harbor any number of biases. Our best readers are leaving us – or at least engaging more intensely - with outlets that they perceive as more honest, accessible to them, and fun to read (while we chase the fickle readers with sex offenders and cheerleader beatdowns and other porn). At the same time, the powerful governments, businesses and organizations for whom we supposedly act as watchdogs have figured out how to use these conventions against us to obscure truth and limit our influence.

Anyway, post apocalypse, if the journalism gods decided to bestow upon me a little bit of startup money, heres how I would set about creating a new model for a community journalism institution.

First, there would be no print product until it could pay for itself without depending on advertising. That means some rich guy or organzation would have to subsidize, like bus service.

Second, it would think of itself less as an organization than as a network of entrepreneurial reporters and photographers. What little there would be of management would, with the help of the public, enforce a new set of funding mechanisms and reporting norms that recognize the people who create content are the most important element of journalism. And it would recognize that the future of journalism lies not in mass audience, but bundles of intense audiences, who are willing to pay in one way or another for quality content.

Here are a few possible tenets.

1) Allow the people who produce stories, photos and other content to be paid directly, on a voluntary basis, by readers or viewers. The producers could be paid like partners at a law firm, with a percentage earmarked for operating the organization and the rest divvied up to producers. Or, if enough advertising and subscription revenue could be sustained, the reporters could keep all the money, like tips in a restaurant.

This model could establish something that I think has never really existed, a direct financial link between the quality of the individual journalist and the market he or she serves. The catch will be ensuring that pay is disclosed publicly and immediately, so that the industry avoids the corruption of payola. Campaign contribution disclosure could be a useful model for this.

2) This network of reporters would work under an ethical system that prizes transparency, intellectual honesty, and audience engagement over pious objectivity, opaque news judgments, and the fear of being called biased.

I think that we should stop arrogantly insisting that we reporters, who are also human beings, can be perfectly objective about anything. Instead, let’s make our subjectivity as transparent and readable as possible and give people who see biases the chance to point them out and debate them with us.

These are the types of questions reporters would need to answer about their pieces:

Is it good? Well-written, sourced, compelling, capable of engaging readers. Can/will the reporter defend it against critics based on his/her reporting? What format or combination of formats that best tells the story? Should a reporter write in the first person or third person?

Are conclusions reached by reporters based on real, verifiable reporting and sources? Are those conclusions intellectually honest? Do they include information contrary to that conclusion if such information exists and account for the conflict? Most importantly, conclusions must be subject to revision if new information and reporting calls for it.

In this world, reporters would be expected to provide relevant personal information: voter registration, general area where they live (not specific address), what their spouses/parents/children do for a living.

No one knows if that model, or any other, can save what we have known as the institutional news organization. It may be that well all be amateurs soon.

But thats certain to happen if those reporters and editors who still have paychecks don’t stop arguing among themselves about content and organization and start leveling with their communities about what theyre about to lose.

photo credit: theogeo

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Lakeland Local

nobody@vox.com(LakelandLocal) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:01:53 -0700

Lakeland Local

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Southeastern University Cancels Tuesday Night Classes

Posted: 18 Aug 2008 03:31 PM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/368404419/

In preparation for tropical storm Fay, the Southeastern University administration has canceled all Tuesday evening classes and all activities after Noon on Tuesday. Faculty are not required to report to campus on Tuesday. University offices will close at Noon on Tuesday and will resume normal operations, including the start of classes, on Wednesday.

Students and parents should check the Southeastern University Web site periodically for the most current updates.

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USF Polytechnic Closed Tuesday

Posted: 18 Aug 2008 03:06 PM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/368384410/

USFPoly is closed Tuesday due to inclement weather. Theyll make a decision on Tuesday regarding Wednesday. You can check here for their weather and disaster links.

Im sure youve heard Polk County Schools are closed tomorrow and Wednesday.

The Ledger looks to be on top of things. This is their Fay page. It has the closings as they learn of them. (Note to Barry: How about a headline only page links next time? It would be faster to scan through and just click to what we need.)

Creative Commons License photo credit: carlaarena

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Enjoy a show to help Save the Puppies fight breast cancer

Posted: 18 Aug 2008 09:11 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/368136875/

Breast Cancer is a serious health issue touching the lives of nearly everyone who reads Lakeland Local. While there are numerous programs raising funds to find a cure, one of the more respected and visible is the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Three Day Walk. In select cities, teams walk 60 miles in three days to raise funds. In order to join the walk, participants pledge to raise $2,200. Eighty-five percent of the funds go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure and 15% to the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund.

In Lakeland, a team with the moniker Save the Puppies, has hit upon an unusual idea to help raise funds to sponsor their walk. They have joined with Coconuts Comedy Club to present a Gong Show-style competition with entry fees going toward their sponsorship. Amanda Page, Save the Puppies member, We are looking for 20-25 acts to perform at the show. Each act would pay a $75.00 entry fee. $50.00 will go towards the breast cancer walk and $25.00 will go towards the prize money for first place. If we get 20 contestants we will have a prize over $500.00 for first place.

Page noted that Lakeland talent that has volunteered to help the show. Local comic Johnny Rich will serve as emcee, Micah Shane 7th Floor take the stage as the house band, and Jesse James from 97Country has joined at one of the celebrity judges.

To keep up the party atmosphere, Save the Puppies will raffle donated gifts, Coconuts will offer drink specials, and contestants will get free beer during the show. Responsible service is promised of course, and every group is encouraged to bring a designated driver.

The show starts precisely at 7 pm on September 7th, but Save the Puppies would like all contestants lined up by August 25th. Please email amanda3day@yahoo.com to register or for additional information. Contest rules are at http://myspace.com/savethepuppies_3day.

photo credit: Jeremy Fulton

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Lakeland Rain

Posted: 18 Aug 2008 09:04 AM CDT
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/LakelandLocal/~3/368122042/

photo credit: Tom Hagerty

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