Bill White, Gatekeeper

Unlike many journalists, Morning Call columnist Bill White has been something of a blog fan over the years. Instead of cringing at us, he's called attention to a number of good local blogs, which actually has helped drive interest. But like Popeye, Bill has his limits. Popeye says, "That's all I can stands, I can't stands no more!" Being a journalist, Bill is a little more sophisticated in his warning about bottom-feeders like me. "[S]ome of these bloggers are so clearly motivated by their own biases, even obsessions, that their information is seriously tainted. Much as I admire a lot of the reporting I've seen, some of it is driven by such a complicated web of vendettas and bromances that any pretense of consistent standards or credibility, at least on certain topics, is out the window."

Looks like I'm guilty as charged. I'm biased, have no editors and the only people with whom I can discuss story ideas are even nuttier than me or worse, live in Allentown or the slate belt. Sometimes I do get my facts wrong, although I know few bloggers who deliberately mislead readers. I do write stories that never appear in a newspaper. But I try not to dictate their agenda.

According to White, people like me present "challenges" for people like you.

Because of our admitted deficiencies, we're not to be trusted. Fortunately, "gatekeepers" like Bill understand the "importance of accuracy and fairness."

Gatekeeper? I've always thought of Bill as a baseball lovin', taco muchin', animal lovin', pie muchin', Eagles-lovin', grammar enhancer. But gatekeeper? To what, an all-you-can-eat buffet, decorated with Christmas lights from everywhere except East Allentown?

Gatekeeper or not, he certainly has my number. But I don't think he has yours. His column basically presupposes that you're stupid enough to believe everything you read here. But most of my readers are newsies who closely read the papers and are more than willing to take me on, whether it is on the facts or because of my own admitted bias. You see, I believe that an yobjective reporter is an objective impossibility. Plus, This is an interactive venue, unlike newspapers. Here, what you say matters and is read. I often end up learning more from the comments than I do when I research a blog posting. There, a reporter or editor would rather go through root canal than respond to a comment from the unwashed masses.

Bill's column also makes the case that newspapers tend to be more trustworthy. Although we can all recite exceptions to that rule, I'll give him that point, too. Both local papers have excellent reporters who can learn in minutes what takes me days. I admire and respect most of them, including Bill. At our best, I think of us as mere complements to the MSM. At or worst, we can be impediments.

But one of his points is downright laughable. He hints "there may be a good reason why that story you're reading on someone's blog still hasn't appeared in your newspaper ... ." Of course, Bill is trying to tell you that some of our stories are garbage. Once again, I think you're smart enough to decide that for yourself, although I swear green-headed aliens really did stick an 80' antenna up my rectum. Honest!

More often than not, the "good reason" why that story has never appeared in a newspaper is because there's been no reporter there to cover it.

Let me provide an example. Last week, I attended a Hanover Township Supervisors' meeting. In a report from the Township Manager, I learned that Bethlehem had shortchanged its own library around $400,000 last year. Yes, this is the same City that missed its $2 million pension payment last year. It's the same City that finished the year $8.5 million in the red. After the meeting, the Manager showed me all the figures. Now that's a story, but there was no daily print reporter there to get it.

The following day, I called the library's executive director for comment, but she never returned my call. Do you think she would have done that to a daily reporter?

You can read a story about that $400,000 shortage here. If truth be told, it belongs in both papers, where the report would be more "fair and accurate" because, for one thing, the librarian would have answered a reporter's call.

I can name other examples of important stories completely missed by the dailies, most likely because of a shortage of manpower. I can also name several local newspaper stories that first appeared on local blogs, including Controller Steve Barron's threat to T-Mobile. Bill wrote a hilarious column, but that story originated at LVCI's blog.

Increasingly, there has been no gatekeeper and no local stories. That leaves us, with all our warts. It's true that we are unfiltered, but we also tend to be a little more real.