Random T&G links

Clive McFarlane had an excellent bit of satire today in the T&G.  I can't wait to see the howling from City Hall over this bit!

What took so long?  It's 2010!  No wonder the Republican 'leadership' in Congress doesn't have a health plan yet!

What took so long II?  It took three years to strip Finneran of his law license after he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice?  For anyone who complains that Massachusetts is dominated by one party, Tom Finneran is the perfect example of how that analysis is flawed.  In any other state Tom Finneran would be a Republican.  His ideas, actions, and agenda while Speaker of the House were all conservative.

Under the headline Study: Newspapers still a step ahead in local news I found this gem at the very end of the article:

"For whatever reasons, the study found that fewer local stories are being published by the Sun and six other newspapers that cover the Baltimore area. The list includes other general-interest publications such as The Washington Post and the Towson Times and specialty publications such as the Baltimore Business Journal.

The change came into sharp focus in July when Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley proposed deep cuts in the state's budget. There were 26 stories published on the subject by the Baltimore-area newspapers monitored during the weeklong study, as well as the AP and other publications around the country. The last time Maryland announced substantial budget cuts in 1991, there were 83 stories published in a comparable weeklong period, according to the study.

Jarvis contends that less original coverage doesn't necessarily translate into less information for readers, because the Web has enabled more people to post comments and links to other material that illuminate.

"Journalism today isn't just about the production of content," he said. "It's about where we can all add value."

 What a waste of time and ink to borrow that propaganda piece from the AP.  Perhaps the editors at the T&G should have devoted that space to actual local coverage.  It's also very amusing that the study focused on The Baltimore Sun, which was taken down by former Sun reporter David Simon in the fifth season of The Wire.  (If you haven't watched The Wire yet, go rent it- it's one of the best written shows in the history of television.)