Had a conversation with Jack Morris, the editor of North Shore Magazine yesterday about blogging and the newspaper business. Jack worked for Fox as their web manager for a while and now is the man at North Shore Magazine. Look for one of my photos in the next edition.
We spoke for a while about newspapers and what way it seems they are evolving in the digital age- agreeing that the newspapers that ignore or do not embrace social online networking to it’s fullest extent are doomed to fail.
People in conversations weekly tell me that they love GMG and that I should start an alternative to the Times. Firstly I am flattered by the suggestion but in reality what we do on GMG is nothing like what goes into putting out a daily newspaper and the local newspapers are crucial to keep going and support.
See, we get to choose fun stuff and things that matter to us to put into GMG. We don’t have to report on the puss. We don’t have to attend tax classification hearings or talk about the police or fire department negotiations with the city. We don’t have to do the obituaries or stories about Marshalls coming to town. We do stuff because we love it or we think you our readers will love it. It’s similar but a different animal what we do and what the newspaper does.
My grammar sucks and if it weren’t for spellcheck my spelling really sucks. I make mistakes and sometimes don’t bother to correct them because I know my point got across. If the local paper makes spelling or grammar mistakes people get all up in their shit.
I guess if you are a paid journalist you should be able to use proper punctuation but I never claimed to be a journalist. I’m a blogger and my job as a blogger is to keep you entertained and to fill my creative needs. I think for the most part we accomplish that here at GMG but please don’t confuse us for a newspaper or take our local newspapers for granted. They keep honest politicians honest and report on the stuff that would slip between the cracks because bloggers would never bother with the little stories and the police notes and all the comprehensive stuff that makes up our newspapers.
For anyone that wants a reliable camera that has a solid zoom, is pocketable and takes decent video I highly recommend this camera- Sony DSC H3. It was a joy to work with.
Good Morning Gloucester 