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The Barnicle crisis needs resolution

WBUR should either finally hire him so people can start donating to WGBH instead or they should announce they're not hiring him so people can stop getting heartburn.

Speaking of 'GBH, Emily Rooney kvetches about the lack of substance on local newscasts these days and fantasizes about marching into some local newsroom and shaking things up. Apparently, Rooney doesn't remember the days when WGBH had its own local newscast. Instead of complaining how vapid the commercial newscasts are, why not restart it? Isn't public television supposed to provide intelligent alternatives to commercial TV? Or has it all come down to Peter, Paul and Mary concerts during Pledge Week?

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Comments

The decline in local coverage on both public radio stations continues to frustrate and disappoint.

The Channel 2 Ten O'Clock News was a quirky, intelligent, almost always interesting take on local coverage. The interview in particular were the only in depth coverage of what was really happening.

Remember when WBUR used to have local shows. The Connection started off as about 1/2 local content, I think. Then it went national, and we lost a great discussion forum. Also, the noon show, Here and Now, was originally Boston- and New England-focused. Now it's all national, too.

The only local focus BUR show is "Only A Game," which seems to predominately cover New England. I don't count "Radio Boston," which has 12 minutes of content in the hour. The promos tell you all you need to know.

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Rooney could hire Wahle to do hard news, Lobel to do sports, and Joyce to do Arts.

But seriously, what does it cost to run a 30 minutes local evening news program?

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How many times can they show those women
leaping around the stage, sawing on fiddles,
with those gravity-defying strapless gowns?

It's kind of like NASCAR. Most people go
for the fiery blaze. I get sucked into
these by the prospect of an imminent costume
malfunction.

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I miss your meaning. Huh?

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Got me....Celtics Dance Squad.

Poor Red Auerbach.

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Michael Pahre, who watches "Beat the Press," finds it interesting that Rooney, who makes blog hate a regular part of her repertoire, is now blogging and hopes her foray into blogging will make her appreciate it more:

... Rooney is clearly learning the ropes of this citizen journalism thing. First she puts up a blank post, then two minutes later she submitted another post. Fortunately, the second post had content, although it was littered with grammatical errors, a misspelling, and no paragraph breaks. But -- Hey! -- she was probably posting it from the basement of her parents' house while wearing PJs, and the wireless signal might not be so good down there next to the boiler. ...

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Yeah, the pulse of the people there. Her and
Jay Severin confusing Roxbury with West Roxbury
in the Tai Ho fire aftermath was pretty classic
"citizen journalism".

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I once heard an interview with the producer of some of the public television concert films. He said that the formula was pretty easy once they figured it out:

Figure out at what age a public television viewer is at their maximum earning potential, then work your way backward to figure out what they would be listening to when they were 17 years old. That should be the subject of the documentary.

We've gone from Peter, Paul, and Mary; to the Greatful Dead, past Motown, and now to The Clash.

I'm guessing the Doug Henley concert will be made within the next five years.

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Don't you talk smack about Emily, yo.

Beat the Press is some of the best news commentary around, and Greater Boston is damn fine as well.

Nevermind that she's smarter and wiser than most of the "media commentator" bloggers out there, us included and combined. She's been around the block a few times, kids.

And yeah, Emily does routinely point out that BLOGGERS ARE NOT JOURNALISTS. Neither are a lot of reporters these days, but that still doesn't mean you degrade the definition of "journalist" to include "anyone smart enough to fill out a new account form on Blogger." It's also important to realize that a lot of folks bloggers label as "journalists" are nothing of the sort; columnists, news commentators, etc.

Bloggers fall very squarely and nicely into the category of "columnist" or "media commentator."

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Remember when Carroll made some stupid allegation - based on a a satirical post - about political bloggers being on the take? And then Rooney defended him against the evil bloggers, wah, wah. That's why a lot of bloggers don't have much faith in Rooney, not because they have fantasies of getting press cards.

More here , here and here.

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We can't all be Bob Lobel, you know!

Oh, yeah. He's unemployed. Never mind.

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Why, I'm drunk right now!

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Isn't it interesting how all the bloggers immediately waged personal attacks on Rooney and Carroll, and in doing so, proved Rooney and Carroll right?

Bloggers are so incestuous, they can't see they're a molehill on a mountain- they repeatedly overestimate their own importance and relevance in the grand scheme of things.

Watching how bloggers react to something is like watching an angry mob, where nothing good comes of it. Bloggers aren't interested in anything except clicks to their blogs to generate Google Ad revenue, and vitriol does it best. Nothing riles them up better than saying they have no standards and they're not journalists- and the only response I've EVER seen from bloggers to such accusations are: "MSM BAD!"

It's also pretty hilarious seeing "Kos" talk about John Carroll dragging down BU's standards (BWAHAHA, seriously?)

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Bloggers aren't interested in anything except clicks to their blogs to generate Google Ad revenue, and vitriol does it best.

You say bloggers aren't journalists like that's a bad thing.

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...how ALL the bloggers immediately waged personal attacks

ALL?

Some bloggers are reasonably criticized for broad categorical, unmeasured statements.

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Commercial TV blows, PBS has been dropping the ball. the fill their prime time hours with the all above mentioned programing. And if something good comes on it on after 12:00 am. I am sick of mindless garbage. There is a huge catalog of programing PBS can show other that the burn out hippie shit. Guess what its 2007 not 1969, get over it and embrace the shit the tune in drop out generation has done. As we all live for today and today is what matters. Yesterday is done and gone. and lately the future does not look so bright.

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Over the last seven years, the federal government cut the budget for Public Broadcasting at least two times, in addition to packing the board with right-wing Bush ideologues. Get yea to the polls and vote for politicians who support public broadcasting.

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