Zennie weighs in: Oakland Blogosphere Withering? East Bay Express Article Full Of Crap http://bit.ly/A2Jy55

You're missing the point of that EBX article: that most if not all of the blogs that covered Oakland city government in any depth have died.

Yes blogs devoted to matters cultural, national politics, OO, foodie, home animal husbandry, mass transportation, home restoration, personal fulfillment are flourishing.

The blogs that died were the ones that analysed instead of merely reporting city council meetings, city subcommittee meetings, ballot measures, compare candidates platform promises vs performance.

Example: other than a couple of Daniel Borenstein pieces in the Trib, I have neven seen any online, tv, or print media analysis of Oakland's >billion dollar retirement approaching tsunami except for a series of detailed posts on A Better Oakland.

Other than a few community yahoo sites, and on A Better Oakland, were there any detailed discussions of alternatives to the established anti-violence programs.

Oakbook tried a few times but flat out didn't have the ass glue and brainpower found in a bunch of different ABO posters to wade thru tons of crime stats comparing Oakland to other cities.

Yes EBX author missed the boat when she said the local government blogs died because of lack of business model. Other than slightly Oakbook, their founders appeared to be motivated by old fashioned civic do gooder ideals. And Gronke of OB clearly had a strong dose of those ideals too or he would have given up much sooner.

But the EBX author was dead on correct that the quality and quantity of local Oakland government info available to local has dropped to an historical low.

Len Raphael, Temescal

ps: several of the local blogs OL lists under Community are defunct.

Okay, that makes sense: "EBX author was dead on correct that the quality and quantity of local Oakland government info available to local has dropped to an historical low." THANKS

hey- thanks for the shoutout (themacinator).

len- i wonder if part of the "death of oakland blogs" may be either attributable to or replaceable by our often lively twitter discussions. an ever growing number of us follow the #oakmtg hashtag during every city council meeting- some of us have for years, but the number gets larger every week. it's real time, and there are many participants including local media members, bloggers, "normal folks," and all kinds of diverse voices. there are many of the now less bloggy-bloggers. still lots of incisive political commentary.

just a thought.

The motives for the EBX writing about this topic are certainly open to skepticism, as Zennie points out, and dont seem very objective from a journalistic standpoint.

It's easy to imagine bias--perceived or actual--when media comments on media, since the EBX has a direct financial stake in the market. For them to trumpet "the Oakland blogosphere is dead" is essentially the same as saying, "we want you to think we have no competition, so advertisers, you have nowhere else to go."

But if you read between the lines, what the EBX is really telling you is, "we can't comprehensively cover Oakland politics the way these blogs did, so if readers are interested in that, they will have to get it elsewhere."

Besides all the lively local blogs which the EBX neglected to mention, tellingly, the article also tiptoes quite carefully around the 800-pound gorilla in the room: Oakland Local. Technically, OL is a news site, not a blog, but then OaklandSeen was also more than just a blog.

So why omit substantial mention of OL?

Simple: it's the competition. And it's still publishing--and has major growth potential. You can almost hear the conversation at the EBX office: If we did make more than a passing reference to OL, that would completely contradict the viewpoint we want you to believe, i.e., that the Oakland blogosphere is dead.

There's one only one brief mention in the article of OL, in reference to contributing editor Jen Ward slowing down her own blog. What the Express doesnt mention, however, is that Ward has been contributing considerable coverage of Oakland city government to OL, on a frequent basis.

Perhaps that point was omitted because it would have undermined the author's thesis and would have focused too much positive attention on OL, which has--obviously--filled in some of the gaps left behind by the demise of the blogs mentioned, both by publishing original content and as an aggregator of local voices from around the blogosphere.

Or perhaps it was an honest omission and the EBX simply "forgot" to mention the one entity perhaps best positioned to make good on the demand for hyperlocal content which weekly print publications cannot deliver.

Whatever the case may be, the EBX article, IMO, cast too wide a net. It could have benefitted from a tighter focus on its one non-debateable point: that the politics-focused blogs which ceased operation were not sustainable as a business model, for whatever reason.

But had it done so, it wouldnt have been able to include OaklandSeen--which had a broader focus and more visibility than most of the other blogs mentioned--quote Allison, or project her as the face of what they are implying was a failed attempt at the future of journalism.

Had the EBX dug deeper into OaklandSeen's demise, they might have figured out it had a lot to do with the fact that much of their content was linked to Allison's role as host of the KPFA morning show--which provided her with access to guests. When she was let go, that source dried up.

Here's an alternate view of why OaklandSeen failed: Basically, it didnt really have an identity outside of Allison. So while its business model may have been unsustainable, as the EBX asserts, its editorial model was also unsustainable, which may have been the bigger issue. Indeed, had it had a different editorial model, its business model may have made more sense.

In my experience, OaklandSeen's editorial department was either nonexistant or had unrealistic expectations. In 2010, as an independent publicist working for Grind 4 the Green, i asked OaklandSeen to cover G4G's eco-hip-hop concert, Fresh Fest. But after sending them a press release and photos, their Managing Editor (cant recall her name) said they would run something only if i wrote the article as well--for free. Such a combination of precociousness and naievete may be the real reason they ceased operations.

The EBX could also have noted that the death of Sajiv Handa of East Bay News Service left big shoes to fill --and a hole in accountability journalism coverage of Oakland government. But had they done so, they might have just been adding fuel to the hyperlocal fire, when it seems the purpose of the article was to extinguish that flame.

However, as Occupy Oakland has made clear, relying on mainstream outlets like the Associated Press, the Tribune and the Chronicle for coverage leaves significant gaps in the historical record, and may (unfortunately) result in an accuracy-challenged viewpoint as well.

After all, OPD is not going to report at its own press conference that it violated its own use-of-force guidelines, as well as the First Amendment protections of fredom of the press. But thanks to the blogosphere, viewers can see video evidence of OPD's actions contradicting their official claims.

That's a huge argument for the continued relevance of citizen journalism and non-traditional media, and one which funders are increasingly beginning to take notice of.

Perhaps, as with any start-up industry, survival in the non-trad media circuit comes down to tenacity, gumption, sticktoitiveness, adaptability, and who has the most sustainable and organic model for growth. But if you're expecting a direct market competitor to tell you that, you might be waiting a long time. :)

Eric-

I'm a little perplexed by the East Bay News Service reference. Do you really see Sanjiv's passing, and thus the EBNS's passing as the end of a politial blog? I certainly never once looked at it online, and in fact had no idea it had an online presence till you bring it up. I certainly know that Sanjiv was an expert, but he was also an expert with a certain slant, and see his shoes as ones to fill, but not as a blog as such, more like the proverbial conscience (if that's right) of the city council. I don't really see it as an omission of the Express.

I also can't really agree with you that the article tiptoes around OL. Maybe Swan gets it wrong, but she references OL when she talks about Ward- she seems to charactarize it as something different from a blog: a "media outlet." The article is about Oakland blogs.

It's an interesting question, really, one that I've thought about a lot: money for blogging, i.e. the business model. OL absolutely has a media feel about it, though there are certainly bloggy segments.  When OL asks for donations, it feels like supporting much needed local journalism. When Swan talks about Allison's hesitancy to use a paywall, she's onto something: paying to read a blog is just not going to happen. I've been turned off of even reading blogs by strident shouts of "writing is a job, youre getting something from it, donate to me!" Blogging is different, in my opinion.  Then Swan has found some interesting crossovers like Tavares, who DO seem to be making money blogging, but also doing a kind of freelancing journalism/blogging for papers like the Express.

Fascinating points, Eric. Especially the Sanjiv Handa omission, good catch!

Greenkozi, I referenced Sanjiv because he was a consummate accountability journalist writing about Oakland politics for decades. That makes him--and his legacy--relevant to any discussion about coverage of Oakland politics in 2012.

I could have said (much) more about people like OakFaSho and Blk Pxls, who represent the new face of citizen journalism. While the AP reporter sits around OPD HQ sipping lattes waiting for a press briefing, and no one from the Express can be bothered to leave their desks to attend a GA or a march, OakFaSho is livestreaming from the scene. And Pxls' filmed interview of an OPD officer covering his name badge actually resulted in disciplinary charges. I'd say that's two examples of citizen journalism that actually made a difference right there. Pxls' video was picked up by numerous network outlets, so he was definitely compensated for his work.

As for the OL mention: not even one complete stand-alone sentence. No mention of all the bloggers OL features. If that's not tiptoeing, then you've never seen a tulip.