tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3471471289744825428.post5196669105618503141..comments2024-03-11T00:31:41.186-07:00Comments on The Oregon Economics Blog: What is a Blog? Economics and the Marketplace of IdeasPatrick Emersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17242234148546323374noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3471471289744825428.post-25309223713428419952008-04-27T16:21:00.000-07:002008-04-27T16:21:00.000-07:00Maybe it's just the season, but aside from the odd...Maybe it's just the season, but aside from the odd post by Chuck Sheketoff and a few others, there's not much there there. The vast majority of posts are about personalities and positions -- who's up, who's down, who said what about whom and what we ought to think about it. If you are looking for ideas or policy discussions, BlueOregon is probably the wrong place to look. If you want sports news, go ahead.<BR/><BR/>One thing about the sports pages is that even where they make an effort to be 'fair and balanced' the home team gets most of the coverage.Fred Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02979504812638374338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3471471289744825428.post-54429440746937633592008-04-25T20:22:00.000-07:002008-04-25T20:22:00.000-07:00well, it worked on the preview.well, it worked on the preview.<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://worldsmaddestdog.blogspot.com" REL="nofollow"/>Pat Malachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13224720781719758511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3471471289744825428.post-10368680675524948872008-04-25T20:20:00.000-07:002008-04-25T20:20:00.000-07:00Whoops. That's .Whoops. That's <A HREF="http://worldsmaddestdog.blogspot.com" REL="nofollow"/>.Pat Malachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13224720781719758511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3471471289744825428.post-5041930768951932252008-04-25T20:19:00.000-07:002008-04-25T20:19:00.000-07:00That's nice, Jeff.But you never really addressed a...That's nice, Jeff.<BR/><BR/>But you never really addressed <I>any</I> of the substance of the post.<BR/><BR/>It's those Blue-colored glasses, I guess.<BR/><BR/>And you're right, BlueOregon does many things well, but maintaining a neutral voice in which "in the news" and "elsewhere" pieces it runs hasn't been one of them.<BR/><BR/>Moreover, BlueOregon is influential. And the people who have been reading and complaining have forced the issue into the real press, which in turn made the the editors and kari, the publisher, do a much fairer job in choosing those stories without bias.<BR/><BR/>Again, Jeff, BlueOregon would be better served by less defensiveness and a more honest look from within.<BR/><BR/>My history with BlueOregon:<BR/><BR/>I lost my posting privileges after posting "Welcome to the Democratic Party, now sit down and shut up," which chronicled the behavior of Merkley supporting blogger BeaverBoundary, then run anonymously by Mitch Greenlick Aid Tom Powers. Powers had searched the voters rolls to publicly accuse me and other Novick supporters of not even being Democrats.<BR/><BR/>When I pointed out that in fact I am a Democrat, he insulted me and said that fact made him sad. <BR/><BR/>I simply asked BlueOregon readers what they thought of that behavior from an obviously well-connected Democratic party insider telling others they don't belong in HIS party.<BR/><BR/>Also notable is that BeaverBoundary was welcomed to the blogosphere on BlueOregon the first day of its inception, and then Powers immediately began attacking Novick with the GOP inspired tax-and-spend-liberal smear. At least one of those posts was also immediately front-paged on BlueOregon.<BR/><BR/>Really, jeff, you think this episode makes BlueOregon look <I>better</I>.<BR/><BR/>Those blue-colored glasses are thicker than I thought.<BR/><BR/>By the way, I feel quite liberated over at <A HREF="http://worldsmaddestdog.blogspot.com" REL="nofollow"/>. I don't have to worry about upsetting the Democratic Party that keeps Kari's firm, mandate Media, afloat.<BR/><BR/>I should have started it long ago. But thanks for the push. :) <BR/><BR/>Really!!<BR/><BR/>P.S. Still waiting for you to analyze BlueOregon's non-bylined "in the news" and "elsewhere" coverage of the Novick/Merkley race. But I imagine why you wouldn't actually want to sit down with the objective analyst hat on and take a <I>real</I> hard look.Pat Malachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13224720781719758511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3471471289744825428.post-19017894615954871302008-04-25T08:52:00.000-07:002008-04-25T08:52:00.000-07:00I should add, by putting it a little more explicit...I should add, by putting it a little more explicitly: Kari often tells people that if they don't like the site, they should quit reading it. That they don't tells me we're doing something right.Jeff Alworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02930119177544342495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3471471289744825428.post-19402926725564429072008-04-25T08:50:00.000-07:002008-04-25T08:50:00.000-07:00A disclosure of your history with BlueOregon might...A disclosure of your history with BlueOregon might put your comments into some context, Pat (Malach). <BR/><BR/>Patrick, one other thing we try to do is offer transparency. Obviously, there are disgruntled folks like Pat who feel we don't do a good enough job on that score, but part of the reason his criticisms have teeth is because we provide him with the evidence he needs to damn us.<BR/><BR/>When the "product" (since we don't earn anything, it's a conceptual product, I guess) is a communication, the hosts/authors rely purely on their credibility. To the extent readers no longer trust a site, they'll drift away. I think Pat Malach's continued engagement of the site is evidence that we do a pretty good job on that score.Jeff Alworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02930119177544342495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3471471289744825428.post-6686734272612983492008-04-24T18:49:00.000-07:002008-04-24T18:49:00.000-07:00Individual blogs represent the views of individual...Individual blogs represent the views of individuals. You don't need to be an economist to figure that out. <BR/><BR/>But that's not what BlueOregon is, it it?<BR/><BR/>It advertises itself as a progressive "water cooler," not a typical blog that represent the views of one, two or three authors.<BR/><BR/>In fact BlueOregon's credibility is built largley on the fact that it doesn't represent the views of a small group of contributors, but of a larger progressive community represented by this large and varying group.<BR/><BR/>Those bylined contributions are not the issue.<BR/><BR/>And that is what many, many smart people such as yourself simply refuse to acknowledge.<BR/><BR/>This issue arises from the "in the news" and "elsewhere" posts. because these posts are not bylined, they represent the choices of "BlueOregon," the water cooler.<BR/><BR/>When those "in the news" and "elsewhere" pieces contain a striking bias -- (ie) anti-Novick and pro-Merkley (remember your own, "Is Novick too short to get elected" column that was immediately front-paged at BO while the multiple MSM stories reflecting negatively on Merkley were ignored?) --well then progressives who feel their water cooler has chosen sides, they get a little pissed. <BR/> <BR/>Moreover, because of the publisher's undeniably close ties to the democratic party, the blog is a pseudo official blog for state Democratic Party politics.<BR/><BR/>So people react to the bias in the supposedly neutral non-bylined BlueOregon posts the same way they would if the DPO took sides in a primary.<BR/><BR/>So which is it. Are the non-bylined pieces at BlueOregon supposed to reflect a neutral position in the primary or not?<BR/><BR/>If not, then they should be bylined.<BR/><BR/>It's really not that complicated, it one drops the defensiveness and looks at it without the "blue-colored" glasses.Pat Malachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13224720781719758511noreply@blogger.com