Taricani on the blogosphere: too much vitriol
Changes are inevitable as the Rhode Island blogosphere moves forward.
Blogs will continue to take up part of the slack created by the ProJo's retreat. Some journalists will wrest with the balance between blogging and other demands. And some blogs will fall by the side.
Close observers may have noticed that Jim Taricani's Eye on the Media hasn't been updated since April. I was curious about what was going on, so I e-mailed Jim. Here's what he had to say:
It was just a matter of me not really having the time to pay attention to it. My primary responsibility here is investigative reporting for broadcast. I really couldn't respond to the blog responses, and I decided to give it up.
I think blogging works if the blogger can give it the attention it needs to make it an interactive experience, rather than just a method of putting one's opinions out there.
I check most of the local blogs daily -- including yours -- as well as national. My favorite national is Jim Korteki['s] Emergency Cheese.
P.S. another reason I stopped blogging was because of the large number of people who responded with personal insults, instead of discussing the merits of what I had to say. It was disappointing to see some of these responses.
I know people like me in television can generate a lot of very strong opinions from our viewers . . . but some of the responses were just plain stupid, ugly and petty. My thought was, why do I need this grief?
I've developed a real thick skin over the years . . . but the personal responses were downright scary.