We plead guilty to a certain shall we say crankiness when surveying the mainstream headlines for scraps of local edification, but hey folks, we’re just tryin’ to help. Our intentions are good, please don’t let us be misunderstood. So when we earnestly inaugurate a feature called Local Headlines That Ran Elsewhere, we’re not saying the headline or story never ever ran in local media. We’re merely pointing out recognition by the Outside World of our humble region. “Seattle Man Bites Renton Dog” in The New York Times is probably of interest no matter how many times the story has run in the P-I. And when we decry the lack of a Big Picture in local reporting, we’re merely suggesting that an awareness of, and linkage to, larger forces at play help provide a context to make readers care. “Cat Climbs Tree in Ballard Before Earthquake” is not nearly the story that “Thousands of Cats Throughout Northwest Take to Trees Before Earthquake” is.
If you are distraught at having stumbled into Journalism 100.5, then yes, you can correctly surmise that this is an extremely slow headlines day. I’m writing this at 12:30 a.m., waiting for The Times Web site to flip, the P-I having provided me with “Sometimes Scanners Get Price Wrong” (Good Lord, now I’ll never get to sleep!) and “Neuheisel Eyes Successful Return” (and even if I do, my worst nightmare will be confirmed). Of course, the scanner story doesn’t mention what to do when you’re undercharged, which in my experience happens more often. Leave it to the press to out one of consumers’ few weapons against rampant inflation. Hopefully Costco management won’t see this one.
I would be remiss not to tip my hat to Times senior political writer David Postman for his generous acknowledgment in The Stranger of my conversation with my daughter a week ago, wherein I informed her that our beloved Crocodile, where Franz Ferdinand, Turin Brakes, Tapes ‘n Tapes and so many other uncommercialized rising bands had provided so much personal joy and temporary deafness, was closing its sticky grimy doors. But this was hardly my scoop, as I noted in Tuesday’s headlines post. My only reason for bringing up the thing was to give The Weekly credit, which is more than our friends at Slog have. Not to slight them in the slightest: I was just thinking how wonderful it is to have Erica C. Barnett back rattling the cages at City Hall (which were notably undisturbed by any local media during her absence), so much so that I almost forgave her for taking yet another interminable vacation, this time with a paucity of posts that she blamed on lack of Wi-Fi. This of course being the current reporter’s “headache and flu” excuse after a night of carousing, my all-time favorite being, after a reporter called in with a bad back, his editor’s observation that the female reporter he was with the previous night was no doubt going to call in with a bad front.
At Erica’s age I was getting two weeks of vacation and wasn’t paid enough to go to Italy Barcelona, or even Austin. But it seems only fair that someone who does the work of three reporters get commensurate time off. Welcome back Erica. Now tell me what Conlin will do as the next Council president…
Ah yes, The Times site has flipped, and the lead is lead: High lead levels in kids’ jewelry, a lamentable but unsurprising development to HA readers of Goldy’s scoop yesterday, sprinkled liberally with insights and calls to action, the way real journalism is supposed to work.
Addendum: Somehow in my blurry-eyed mumblings I missed the P-I coverage of the homeless rally last night. Nothing in The Times, which apparently is content to stick with Nicole Brodeur’s boneheaded revelations of a couple weeks ago (although a search did turn up a creditable report on Gates Foundation efforts for homeless families). The best discussion of course resides at Real Change and its editor publisher Tim Harris’ great blog. Give an RC vendor a fiver next time around, it’s Christmas folks.
You missed a juicy one, Paul. Right there on The Times front page next to the lead lead is the story of pretty serious sexual assault issues at the state women’s lockup at Purdy.
All in all it paints a very un-Purdy pic, which makes it perfect for the salatious salivations of the HA Happy Hooligans. Given their propensities to damn the chief executive of whatever government runs a prison for misbehavior within that prison, does this mean that Gov. Christine Gregoire is personally responsible for the several dozen cases of sexual assault that have taken place during her administration?
And does that make her predecessor personally responsible for the ones that took place while he was in office?
Of course, buried deep within the story are the makings of an extraordinarily bad B movie from the 50’s or an even worse adult flick from the 80’s.
Still, it’s a logical tautology under Abu Ghraib and Gitmo analytical theory espoused by netroots/DailyKus/MoveOn/MediaWatch/HA/ExecutiveIntelligenceReview that since a former cook in the Purdy kitchen is alleged to have committed rape in the darkest recesses of his kitchen, it must have been with the full knowledge of, complete endorsement by, and near-active participation in the act of the Governor, her senior staff, and all who voted for her.
Under the torches/tar and feathers corollary of this thinking, it’s incumbent to now proceed to demand the impeachment and criminal trial, conviction, and summary execution of Gov. Gregoire and her aides for these crimes against humanity.
All the Madame DeFarge wannabes out there on the HA Happy Hoolihorizon will soon be taking to the streets in mass and armed insurrection demanding the head of of the Gov all the while chanting, “Gregoire is dirty, send her to Purdy!”
Will Goldy lead the charge?
The Piper
Of course, Rumsfeld signed off on the torture in Abu Graib, so your analogy is bogus. If one of the Governor’s staff people went to Purdy and authorized the abuse, then you’d have something similar.
Moron.
If this were Journalism 100.5, your narrative would be easier to follow.
I thought Erica went to Barcelona, which, last time I checked, was not in Italy. I know the name sounds a little bit Italian, maybe it could be in Tuscany?
Kinda sloppy for a post claiming to be Journamalism “100.5.”
“Gitmo analytical theory?” What kind of crack have you been smoking, Pip? Or is that the newest brand of Rush© “feminazism?” No wonder you people can’t keep your talking points straight, they’re so logically inconsistent that anyone with two neurons to strike together can’t help but be confused.
If you wanted a really stinky Brodeur column, you could have mentioned the one just a few days ago about her XMas dinner with sex offenders. I want the time I spent reading that turd back, Nicole!
Ms Tlazolteotl: When has Nicole Brodeur written anything worth reading… You could demand a year back!
Congress was forced to add $50 billion to the deficit by passing Alternative Minimum Tax relief without revenue offsets because of Republican fiscal irresponsibility. And millions of tax refunds will be delayed next year because of Republican obstructionism.
Hey, don’t diss Nicole so much. She and I grew up in the same uber-suburb.
Though I, being older, got out of Cherry Hill while the getting was a bit better.
@4 Oops, Barcelona it is, or was. Maybe there’s a reason I get misunderstood!
I thought the PI story about the City defending sweeps of homeless camps was of some interest. I wonder if they will be going back to using the tractor mounted brush cutter used last summer on Isaac Palmer, killed June 2 when he was run over by a brush-clearing machine as he slept beneath a freeway underpass. (That was actually the State DOT, but it was in Seattle.) Homo sapiens tartare anyone?
Then there was the Times story of the former Republican Alaska State House speaker appealing his conviction for fraud along with two other Republican legislators. But republicans convicted of fraud has become so common it is hardly news anymore, so perhaps you were correct in not mentioning that one.
Headline du jour: “Goldstein … ?”
This morning Dave Ross, Little Big Mouth, interviewed Commissioner Addledstein, FCC, about media consolidation. Sick Dick from Lake City called to say that radio progressives in Seattle are silenced and stifled. The only local progressive voices on radio belong/belonged to Geov, 1/2 hour on Saturday public radio, and to Mike ‘Jemima Rice’ Webb, who married an axe murderer.
Suspicions confirmed. “David Goldstein” is so inconsequential that he’s invisible and inaudible.
Note Paul’s nonsensical addendum regarding the nonsense of Real Change, Seattle’s pimpin’ paper for the possessed and dispossessed. Then check Seattle Weakly’s expose’ (think it’s here … http://www.seattleweekly.com/2.....meless.php ) of a neo-Marxist poverty-pimp paper that sets its vendors against each other in cutthroat capitalist competition.
@7
True, dat.