Blogs play role in evolving news chatter
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
A very angry reader called this week to voice outrage at the content of a blog published in the printed edition of The Enterprise.
Blogs, for the uninitiated, are columns or commentary posted on the Internet. The stories they explore or opinions they express may or may not have a basis in fact. Blogs express opinions of the writer and play a major role in — for lack of a better word — stirring things up.
The Enterprise has multiple blogs on Beaumont
Enterprise.com and publishes a sampling of blog postings throughout the week.
The specific one to which the caller objected addressed the much publicized story of the Mississippi school district that canceled the high school prom rather than let a female student bring a same-sex date.
Though it was published in The Enterprise, it as I told the caller, didn’t necessarily express the opinion of The Enterprise as an editorial on our editorial page might.
*
Blogs, Facebook and other social media got other nationwide attention this week for several reasons.
The ABC show “Brothers and Sisters” spotlighted the nature of blogs and the Internet when the French boyfriend of a cast member, whose sister is running for the U.S. Senate, became the subject of rampant blogging. The stories, both fact and fiction, included a viral You Tube video posting of the girlfriend’s outrage as she went after the intruding paparazzi trampling through her front yard.
It was a mainstream look at how much our world has changed through our means of communication and our complete lack of privacy.
According to The New York Times, even conservative commentator Glenn Beck took his share of blog hits this week after calling on Christians to leave their churches if they hear preaching about social or economic justice, which he said were code words for Communism and Nazism.
That got some Christians all stirred up, with one Christian blogger even comparing Beck to Howard Stern.
Wow, how’s that for a stretch? But that’s what this is all about — opinions, popular or not.
*
On a lighter note, it was an online campaign started on Facebook that achieved the most significant victory this week when NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” announced Betty White will indeed host the May 8 Mother’s Day episode of the long-running late night favorite.
Though White has a substantial fan base because of her past Emmy-winning roles, it was a Super Bowl commercial that launched the campaign that eventually attracted almost a half million fans who wanted to see her host SNL.
It’s a fine example of the power of such Internet campaigns.
*
Southeast Texas lost a great leader this week with the passing of Judge Theodore Johns, who was among local Civil Rights activists who helped integrate the campus of what is now Lamar University.
A front page story and photograph announced his passing and a column on the editorial page lauded his many accomplishments, though neither seems quite enough recognition for a man whose life made such a difference to others.
He also served on the judging panel for The Enterprise’s Jefferson Awards program several years ago, giving me the opportunity to get to know him a bit better.
Here’s hoping others use his life as an example to emulate and continue his work.
*
Some Enterprise subscribers have been concerned about telephone calls they might have received offering special discount subscription deals for our newspaper. The calls come from a company with an out-of-town area code and the callers, in offering these deals, also seek a customer credit card number.
Though readers are certainly to be lauded for their caution, this actually is an Enterprise-sponsored promotion and the calls are legitimate. One subscriber, cautiously asked that the information be sent by mail for her to verify, which I think is wise.
So, you are right not to give your credit card number out to anyone who calls, and you need to verify the source of any such calls you get, but the offers are legitimate.
A very angry reader called this week to voice outrage at the content of a blog published in the printed edition of The Enterprise.
Blogs, for the uninitiated, are columns or commentary posted on the Internet. The stories they explore or opinions they express may or may not have a basis in fact. Blogs express opinions of the writer and play a major role in — for lack of a better word — stirring things up.
The Enterprise has multiple blogs on Beaumont
Enterprise.com and publishes a sampling of blog postings throughout the week.
The specific one to which the caller objected addressed the much publicized story of the Mississippi school district that canceled the high school prom rather than let a female student bring a same-sex date.
Though it was published in The Enterprise, it as I told the caller, didn’t necessarily express the opinion of The Enterprise as an editorial on our editorial page might.
*
Blogs, Facebook and other social media got other nationwide attention this week for several reasons.
The ABC show “Brothers and Sisters” spotlighted the nature of blogs and the Internet when the French boyfriend of a cast member, whose sister is running for the U.S. Senate, became the subject of rampant blogging. The stories, both fact and fiction, included a viral You Tube video posting of the girlfriend’s outrage as she went after the intruding paparazzi trampling through her front yard.
It was a mainstream look at how much our world has changed through our means of communication and our complete lack of privacy.
According to The New York Times, even conservative commentator Glenn Beck took his share of blog hits this week after calling on Christians to leave their churches if they hear preaching about social or economic justice, which he said were code words for Communism and Nazism.
That got some Christians all stirred up, with one Christian blogger even comparing Beck to Howard Stern.
Wow, how’s that for a stretch? But that’s what this is all about — opinions, popular or not.
*
On a lighter note, it was an online campaign started on Facebook that achieved the most significant victory this week when NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” announced Betty White will indeed host the May 8 Mother’s Day episode of the long-running late night favorite.
Though White has a substantial fan base because of her past Emmy-winning roles, it was a Super Bowl commercial that launched the campaign that eventually attracted almost a half million fans who wanted to see her host SNL.
It’s a fine example of the power of such Internet campaigns.
*
Southeast Texas lost a great leader this week with the passing of Judge Theodore Johns, who was among local Civil Rights activists who helped integrate the campus of what is now Lamar University.
A front page story and photograph announced his passing and a column on the editorial page lauded his many accomplishments, though neither seems quite enough recognition for a man whose life made such a difference to others.
He also served on the judging panel for The Enterprise’s Jefferson Awards program several years ago, giving me the opportunity to get to know him a bit better.
Here’s hoping others use his life as an example to emulate and continue his work.
*
Some Enterprise subscribers have been concerned about telephone calls they might have received offering special discount subscription deals for our newspaper. The calls come from a company with an out-of-town area code and the callers, in offering these deals, also seek a customer credit card number.
Though readers are certainly to be lauded for their caution, this actually is an Enterprise-sponsored promotion and the calls are legitimate. One subscriber, cautiously asked that the information be sent by mail for her to verify, which I think is wise.
So, you are right not to give your credit card number out to anyone who calls, and you need to verify the source of any such calls you get, but the offers are legitimate.
posted by Sheila Friedeck at 2:53 PM
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