Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Strange Encounters on Day 364

I was contacted today by a reporter from Illinois who found this blog and decided I was a source of information regarding federal funding for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. In recent weeks, such contacts from reporters have been happening with some regularity.

The reporter (if indeed that's the actual job the person had) has got to be pretty damn lazy. I doubt that internet search engines don't exist in Illinois.

What's more, the post this person mentioned which I wrote in June also had a link to my source of information.

So -- this nagging and uncomfortable sensation has lingered with me much of the day. I know my views of politics are not typical of this small rural section of Tennessee. And judging by what I read and hear from across the country, my views are not typical either - otherwise our shared political landscape would be radically different.

Let me offer a short excerpt from the short email I received:

"
Joe,

Some conservative friends of mind are always complaining about their tax dollars going to "liberal" PBS. I was reading your blog where you were talking about only 15-percent of PBS' funding comes from tax dollars--about $1 per person. Does that mean each year each person in the U.S. pays $1 to pay for PBS?"

Again, it remains inexplicable that someone who has a computer and email doesn't have access to the same search engines I do. Was this email just an example of one lazy reporter? The fact is there is so much specific and detailed information on any topic you can imagine available, there exists no real reason to ask how I found some research documents.

In a slightly related event, yesterday (well, today really, around 1:30 am) some foul-mouthed ignorant hateful shmuck left a comment on my post yesterday about Sen. Frist that was pure obscenity incarnate. Once I saw it I deleted it.

I dunno - I guess fourth grade was tough for a lot of people and they've never recovered.

On the other hand, I have been in contact with some reporters from outside the state who have been working on a variety of stories, including the issue of illegal immigrants and how it has impacted this part of the state. In that case, I found the reporter to be very well informed, had visited here more than once and had conducted many interviews.

So some journalists dig and search, some don't. I'm glad anyone can find either useful or perhaps entertaining writing here. Kinda why I started. After all, everyone is entitled to my opinion.

And that leads me to a milestone for this Cup o' Joe. August 3rd 2005 was the first day of this blog so I am most happy to be here one year later. Yay me.

I'll have more about that anniversary tomorrow.

And really, I don't mind one bit if folks have questions about something I say here. Once or twice even I've been wrong on some things, and I do make corrections. I guess with the odd email today I am just reminded of the old saying - "There are no stupid questions. But there are stupid people."

9 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:03 AM

    Congratulations, you're a source!
    Of course, of course.
    "Happy birthday to Joe's blog, Happy...." ahh, screw it.....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous7:48 AM

    Congrats, Joe!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous8:38 AM

    Joe, you are my only source of information. I wouldn't know anything if I didn't read your posts, well, if I didn't have someone read it to me. I was educated in TN public schools and I am ill prepared for any job outside of the manufacturing or food service industries and apparently Illinois has the same educational system.
    Congratulations on 365 and I hope to have someone rerading your posts to me for a long, long time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congrats on a rock-solid year.
    May your keyboard keep clackin' through many more.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Happy Blog-o-versary, Joe! Keep it coming.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks very much for your encouragement.
    And thanks even more for reading (or, having it read to you!)

    I'm even gonna write more about the blog-birthday for today!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous11:22 AM

    As a working reporter who is still a bit confounded by search engines and such, I still get some of the information I need for stories the old fashioned way: actually talking to people. I'm ashamed to be counted among the kind of reporter you were pestered by re: Public Broadcasting. Our web page has direct links to NPR where anyone can find out financial information. Sheesh.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
    -Albert Einstein

    Woo Hoo!
    Cup-O-Joe is havin a birthday!
    Should I bring you some cake?
    What's that?
    Wine would be fine with you?
    OK.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ann -- you are NOTHING like the "reporter" who wrote to me, your work has far more value - that person was a newspaper writer and to me, their email had some not-so-subtle insults towards Public Broadcasting. I heart Public Broadcasting!!!!
    And double-triple on the "sheesh" for contacting me from Illinois for info easily available IN Illinois.

    The Editor - duh! wine wine wine!!

    ReplyDelete