[NOTE: I’m not sure what happened, but the server burped and I lost this post, and all its comments. Strange. So please add your comments to the thread again.]
With a budget battle brewing in what will be one of the most consequential legislative sessions in years, the number of journalists covering our state government has plummeted:
During the past 15 years, the state population has increased by 25 percent and the amount of tax money spent by the state has more than doubled. Yet the number of print, television and radio journalists covering the state Legislature full time has dropped by about 70 percent.
[…] In 1993, there were 34 journalists covering the Washington state Legislature. By 2007, there were 17. This year, there may be as few as 10 full-time journalists, mostly newspaper reporters.
We are facing the prospect of a huge hole in political coverage, with potentially devastating results for our state’s citizenry, but it’s also an opportunity for new media to rise to the task and help fill the void. I thought about heading down to Olympia myself for the session, or hiring some youngster at slave wages to do it for me, but what’s really needed is a seasoned reporter who knows the ropes. You know… like Josh Feit, who has been covering the Capitol for years.
The problem, of course, is the money. It’ll cost HA about $15,000 in salary and expenses to pay Josh to cover this four month session… and that’s on top of the money I ultimately need to raise to support myself. And I’d like to hear from you, my readers, whether you think it is worth it?
I don’t expect to raise all, or even most of the money in an online fund drive; I’m pursuing larger commitments from individuals and interest groups eager to see more in depth coverage of the coming session while promoting the growth of independent media. But it all starts with your support.
So let me know what you think about these ambitious plans, and we’ll move on from there.
Could some conservative Republican explain to me how the community would be better served with an non-unionized workforce? You know, like the non-unionized bus drivers that almost dropped fifty feet onto I-5 with loaded buses today?
Because of the training, work rules and experience of Metro employees due to the benefits of working in a union environment. Due to the experience of veteran bus drivers providing on the spot help to those less so. Due to a union system that rewards seniority, the community has a golden asset which should come through on days like today.
Unfortunately, management decided to sit on all that, and not run as many 40 foot coaches as they could have in the City of Seattle. There were fleets of buses sitting idle. There were drivers standing by to drive them. At the base I looked around the room, and there was at least ten people who have earned 20 year safe driving rings standing around with the other. drivers. Why didn’t we have a chained bus ready to go?
The answer is money. Metro Transit is sitting idle due to budget issues, not safety issues.
I do not know why Metro Transit decided to idle those buses, but they should have had the budget and tools necessary to get the job done today. This is the first time in my 20+ year career at Metro that this has happened. We always run until the last dog dies. Then we pull them out, or chain them in place, and drive them again. But that costs extra money, so someone chose budget over service today. That is inexcusable when the local government is encouraging people to choose a car free lifestyle.
We should demand better from our local officials. When we do, they will respond.
Back in the day we had a lot of folks covering Oly and back in the day the legislative sessions were soaked with booze and backroom deals. Reporters were literally and figuratively in bed with legislators and lobbyists and the sleaze in Oly went on unreported and unchanged for years.
I wouldn’t use the number of reporters covering Oly as any sort of gauge.
Maybe you could look into forming a pool with other local bloggers each blog sending someone (or a couple of someones) down for a week and sharing posts and costs. It might be a good way to “grow the new media pie” as well. I’d shell out a few bucks for that.
Josh sucks, Goldy. Do it yourself. You’ll make great contacts and you’ll learn something.
If you want this blog to be successful, invest in yourself.
2 continued
You could call yourselves The Progressive Bloggers Alliance or some shit like that.
It didn’t make the Blethen Times, but in the morning news the caption read: Christine the Virgin Queen Commits Geezercide.
Blethen blew it off this way, in one throw-away sentence: “The proposed budget also would cut reimbursement rates for nursing homes …” Isn’t that special. And what makes it special is this, right here.
Lost track of the times that our Virgin Queen, letting her inner bitch out for a run, bitch-slapped Rossi about balancing his 2003 budget on the back of Old Granddad at Great Perhaps Rest Home.
And Dino? Mr. Mumbles? He mumbled and let Gregoire score and score and score. There IS NO deficit, Dino, she snarled.
So this will be fun. The Virgin Queen whacks her “deficit,” which does not exist, by drop kicking Tony Soprano’s mother at the ‘retirement community.’ And by taking away Ice House, Night Train, and crack (GAU) from the needy.
No wonder Rabbit gave you a McGuffey primer on guns ‘n’ ammo. No wonder Steve is practicing on woodland creatures in his driveway. We’ve got a lovely bloody progressive biennium coming, but there IS NO deficit, and it doesn’t matter what the meaning of is is.
Goldy,
Sheesh…
I checked with the AP in Oly – they serve as gatekeepers for this stuff – and was told that unless you’re from a print, TV, or radio outlet, the odds are slim that you will get credentials.
The legislature determines who gets them, but the standards are few and far between. Decisions seem to be arbitrary and capricious, which is typical for the legislature.
Bloggers are regarded as akin to cooties, while think-tank journalists seem to scare them.
I have applied for them (write a letter and beg – that’s what I did), but be prepared to be treated the same way as when you try picking up girls on Friday nights…rejection!
Send me an email off the blog, and I’ll give you the name of the person to whom to write.
The Piper
Who cares about politics when there are important car wrecks and warehouse fires to cover?
How about an open thread? I have something to say!
Sell ad time on Podcasting Liberally.
Oh, and actually start releasing Podcasting Liberally.
@6 — “I have applied for them (write a letter and beg – that’s what I did), but be prepared to be treated the same way as when you try picking up girls on Friday nights…rejection!”
Wow! Sorry about that, Bud! But don’t generalize your experience to everyone elses’. Most women just don’t want to have follow a man around with a dictionary just to understand what he’s saying.
@8 If you want to hate on blacks and Jews some more, Troll, it would fit in nicely over at the Third Rate Burglary thread where Pudz is displaying his remarkable ability to dismiss anything he finds to be contrary to his reality construct. He’s putting on quite the show.
@5 — What are you bitching about. She’s doing just what Dino promised to do.
@11
Um, I actually admire Jews. I don’t admire blacks. But I do admire Jews. Blacks could learn a lot from them.
@5 A friendly reminder that this budget shortfall is a result of an economic crisis created by Republican idiocy seems in order here. At least Gregoire didn’t slap a bed tax on granny, like Rossi did.
@6 I can see why you’d be rejected, piper — by girls, I mean. I don’t want a date with you, either.
@8 You have nothing to say. Never have and never will. All you do is make noise. Being on a blog with you is like living under the third runway.
A union work force does not necessarily guarantee quality. Just look at the shit Detroit has been producing for years. I know they’ve gotten better, but I still remember the Pinto, the Chevy Vega, and the K-car. What utter pieces of shit! The legacy of crap is going to follow the car manufacturers a long time.
@13 You could learn a lot from rabbits.
@17 So you think Detroit builds shitty cars because of crappy workers instead of crappy engineering? Hmm.
P.S., It’s been my experience in life that when companies run into trouble, the rot usually started at the top and worked its way down through the organization, not the other way around.
Roger Rabbit said:
“@17 So you think Detroit builds shitty cars because of crappy workers instead of crappy engineering? Hmm.”
When it comes to the Pinto, Vega, and K-car, I sure as hell do believe that. But, you’re correct in your implication that management is just a shitty. They’re not any better than the union guys putting the pieces of shit together.
Comment #17 furnishes us with an example of blaming workers when things go wrong — where is management’s responsibility in this? — another reason why I don’t work and nobody else should work, either.
Workers get the lowest pay, worst treatment, highest taxes, the least say, and the most blame — so why would anyone want to be a worker? You have to be out of your mind to put up with how this country treats workers. Fuck work! I don’t have to work. I live off the land. Let the bosses do all the work. It’s their turn. I did my share and I’m not doing any more.
@20 I’m not surprised. You believe a lot of other stupid shit, too. At least you’re consistent.
Ford has made a lot of progress in quality, but GM and Chrysler have a ways to go. I don’t think this loan is going to save GM and Chrysler: they’re too far gone. Chapter 11 is the best course of action for them. Save the good parts of the companies and let the bad parts die. We’re not doing any favors by prolonging these businesses that just aren’t making it.
@22 – We all think the same of you, you fucking asshole!
@23 I object to my tax dollars being used to turn Michigan into a right-to-work state. I hope the UAW tells Bush to go fuck himself.
@24 “you fucking asshole”
Why, thank you! That’s quite a compliment, and one that’s well deserved! There’s truth to what you said — as a rabbit, I fuck more than 100 times a day, and I work hard at being a liberal asshole. I saw where being nice got us liberals, so I don’t go that route anymore, I’m definitely on the Asshole Bandwagon now! Acknowledgement of my talent is always appreciated.
Like it or not, it is inevitable that the auto makers are having a shake-out. The unions are probably not going to survive intact regardless of what some of the local intelligencia think.
@24,
You’re welcome.
josh – no
Goldy will get a better reception. Horsesass has been part of our clipping service for years. Good enough to land on our desks every morning, but not good enough to be given press credentials? It would be pretty hard to deny HA since we’re already reading it sandwiched between the Columbian, the Olympian, the News Tribune, the Register Guard and the Blethen fishwrapper. Then, of course, we’ve done this blind leading the blind thing before, so who knows. But you should apply for your credentials by compiling two sessions clips and showing that HA’s coverage is already driving debate on transportation, campaign finance, etc…
Pelletizer@22:
You taught all of us well.
If
Cuyahoga Cty
Haiti
Female Bunnies
@30
Why does someone need press credentials?
I simply wrote that I think $15K is too steep a price. I assume that pays for lodging, but surely there is someone already in Olympia who can cover the legislature. We don’t need a Feit to do this, we just need a blogger. They’ll give out credentials to any serious representative of the people looking to report on the people’s business.
@33…DK…
No “they” won’t. Only print, TV, and radio journalists – “they” won’t accredit bloggers because “they” are afraid of them – what will happen if every pajama-clad honyot then asks for credentials?
I was told today that this was the situation.
Sheesh…don’t you read the comment threads???
The Piper
@32…Michael…
Because those with credentials have access to places the general public does not.
The obvious escapes you, doesn’t it?
The Piper
Piper, you’re just flat full of shit as usual. Anybody who knows the players and the process in Olympia can get the news and report it, credentials or no credentials.
Tell me what the “places” are that only the credentialed can get to, and demonstrate to me that the news is to be found only in those places.
Go ahead, I dare you. But you won’t because you can’t, because you’re nothing more than a pompous right-wing blowhard, and you don’t know jack shit.
Goldy, beware being beholden to big donors. If some interest group is paying Josh’s (or whoever’s) salary, they’re going to expect something. It is, afterall, a Blagojevich world and we are all just living in it. No one is going to give you a thing that’s valuable and expect fuckin’ nuthin’.
Daniel K. @33 makes a great suggestion. There has to be a new liberal voice in state political journalism out there that doesn’t have to be sent anywhere to cover Olympia.
@35
See 36.
I’ve been all over the the capitol, met the governors going back to Booth Gardner (the Locke’s sent the best Christmas cards), met with Senators and Reps and never had a problem getting a question answered or an email returned.
I don’t work in media and as such don’t know what having “press credentials” means or what advantage someone who has them would have over the rest of us given what I outlined in the above paragraph.
You might also note what PaidFlack states in #30 and that Goldy got to be read right along with traditional media WITHOUT press credentials.
So yeah, I wondered why someone would bother.
Piper @34 – I don’t think what you’ve experienced applies to everyone. I’ve never had trouble getting credentials as a blogger. I think that some blogs/bloggers would have an easier time than others (remind me what your blog is?).
Brrr…
It’s 20 degrees outside.
Goldy, I think it’s telling none of your “friends” said they would contribute.
Libbies, support yo massa!
Steve,
It’s your construct I reject.
It’s you I reject.
It’s you I pity.
See ya.
@42
Reread #2.
In theory Goldy’s idea is a good one, but real organizations engage in real advance planning that results in a real fundraising drive starting well enough in advance that real money is ready to pay for real legislative reporting.
Like, you’re late to the party, dude. How about starting to lay the groundwork for the 2010 session?
@45 – Oh please. This is America. All you need to do is advance the money or take a loan out, and then hope you can recoup the costs later.
Advanced planning is so not the way things are done.
As for “real” money having anything to do with “real” legislative reporting, that’s claptrap. There is plenty of great reporting going on by citizen “journalists” all the time, often unmatched by the so-called professionals out there. And the model the traditional media has been using is obviously not working out for them either, despite how “real” their organizations claim to be, or how much “real” advanced planning they may have been going through.
Unquestionably, if somebody’s going to be paid to cover Olympia for HA, it should be Goldy. You’ve got the name, you’ve got the cred. Don’t farm it out. I’d put up some money for that. And by the way, if you find and share information, you are a journalist. Doesn’t matter where your work appears, whether it’s on HelloKittyCuteMittens.com or the clueless website of DeadTreesR-Us.com,, if you’re finding out and telling people what’s going on, you’re committing journalism. Good luck.
I’d love it, and contribue if he would post about transportaiton
Michael@44 wrote:
Michael, your last paragraph put specific parameters onto how you would monetarily support Goldy. You didn’t say I’ll send you some bucks, but here is my more efficient suggestion.
Now if you look at #47, this person said he’d support Goldy no strings attached. Of course it’s after my original comment.
If you look at #48, Andrew puts a stipulation on his support. Of course it’s after my original comment.
So my comment @42 stands.
Josh Feit is a spent force, all used up. His wad is shot.
Goldy – Josh in Oly? I vote no – or to put it in HA language – NYET.
“Advanced planning is so not the way things are done.”
That’s why small media outlets have such a high failure rate. They tend to be run by people burning to do journalism but lacking in even basic business management skills. And then they wonder why they failed.
Step 1 is for Goldy to develop a business plan that has been vetted by folks who know something about the business. Integral to that plan is establishing your baseline costs and a realistic way to cover them through various types of fundraising.
I say that recognizing that sometimes fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants operations do get lucky, e.g., they hit the market at just the right time. So maybe Goldy can capitalize at least a wee bit on the recent wave of stories about the decline of the capital press corps. However, HA’s proposed legislative coverage won’t be self sustaining without a more “businesslike” approach. There are no shortcuts here. I’m not trying to be snarky or dismissive here — go study the history of the alternative press. This is a terribly unforgiving industry.
@27 “The unions are probably not going to survive intact”
A wingnut wet dream — that’s what the cheap labor conservatives said in the Depression of 1897, too, and in all the depressions since. Despite all the hard work that conservatives have invested in creating depressions to wipe out labor and unions, we’re still here.
@31 “You taught all of us well.”
Putz, I’m surprised at you! I thought you’d be the first person to acknowledge that you’ve never learned anything from me (or anyone else) and never will.
Pelletizer#54: You taught us all how not to be like you. I don’t aspire to become a bitter old “bunny” with missing fur patches.
Yeah, send Josh to Olympia. Right this minute!