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What is the City Desk?
Greetings everyone! As many of you doubtless already know, I am the Saratogian's City Desk writer. I come to Saratoga Springs by way of Brooklyn and Skidmore College. I've been working here at The Saratogian since November, and now, after much gentle prodding from my editors, I am almost ready to begin maintaining a blog to supplement our daily coverage of Saratoga Springs.
The single most important thing in writing a blog is blogging on a regular basis. So let this be my pledge to you, my readers: I will blog regularly on the days that I work, Sunday through Thursday. If I have nothing to say, I will at the very least supply you with links to pertinent stories.
This post is a tease for things to come, my first regular post will be published this Sunday, Jan. 20.
Here are some caveats:
1) I am a reporter for a daily newspaper first, and a blogger second. While I will never publish libel or unconfirmed rumors on this blog, I do not plan on putting the same amount of time into my posts here that I do my reports for the newspaper. You'll have to forgive me if the reporting here is a bit, um, thin. At times, trenchant observations may replace insightful interviews.
2) In my life away from The Saratogian I am an essayist and creative writer. I often find the strictures of the journalistic style overly constraining, so this blog will be a place where I give myself license to play a little bit with form. That doesn't mean that you'll find poems about snow removal here, but it does mean you might find one-word paragraphs. Again, forgive me.
3) On comments: I hope that this blog will be a place where members of the community can come together to discuss the many issues facing the city. That said, I will read all comments before posting them. I will not post comments constituting libel or fighting words. Also, this is not a place for bashing The Saratogian. You can do that here and here. Please do tell me if I get something wrong on this blog or in a story. But I don't care if you think our website is too slow, or if we towed your illegally parked car, or if you have a bone to pick with Barbara Lombardo. I don't care and I wont publish comments speaking to those or similar issues.
4) More on comments: My name is attached to everything I write. Your name should be attached to what you write. I will publish anonymous comments, but only because I want people to comment on my blog, and I know that you can't throw a rock in Saratoga without hitting a coward who won't stand behind their own words. However, if you choose to leave anonymous comments, know that I'm frowning at you.
Enjoy, and I look forward to seeing you Sunday!
The single most important thing in writing a blog is blogging on a regular basis. So let this be my pledge to you, my readers: I will blog regularly on the days that I work, Sunday through Thursday. If I have nothing to say, I will at the very least supply you with links to pertinent stories.
This post is a tease for things to come, my first regular post will be published this Sunday, Jan. 20.
Here are some caveats:
1) I am a reporter for a daily newspaper first, and a blogger second. While I will never publish libel or unconfirmed rumors on this blog, I do not plan on putting the same amount of time into my posts here that I do my reports for the newspaper. You'll have to forgive me if the reporting here is a bit, um, thin. At times, trenchant observations may replace insightful interviews.
2) In my life away from The Saratogian I am an essayist and creative writer. I often find the strictures of the journalistic style overly constraining, so this blog will be a place where I give myself license to play a little bit with form. That doesn't mean that you'll find poems about snow removal here, but it does mean you might find one-word paragraphs. Again, forgive me.
3) On comments: I hope that this blog will be a place where members of the community can come together to discuss the many issues facing the city. That said, I will read all comments before posting them. I will not post comments constituting libel or fighting words. Also, this is not a place for bashing The Saratogian. You can do that here and here. Please do tell me if I get something wrong on this blog or in a story. But I don't care if you think our website is too slow, or if we towed your illegally parked car, or if you have a bone to pick with Barbara Lombardo. I don't care and I wont publish comments speaking to those or similar issues.
4) More on comments: My name is attached to everything I write. Your name should be attached to what you write. I will publish anonymous comments, but only because I want people to comment on my blog, and I know that you can't throw a rock in Saratoga without hitting a coward who won't stand behind their own words. However, if you choose to leave anonymous comments, know that I'm frowning at you.
Enjoy, and I look forward to seeing you Sunday!
posted by The Saratogian City Desk at
12:07 PM
13 Comments:
Let me be the first to comment...Welcome !! And let's have some fun. And don't frown that often...
Andrew,
Good luck on your new blog.
I really appreciate your words about people using their real names.
If you think it is important enough to say in a blog, say it with your name.
Elliott Masie
Like every other Saratogian reporter except Kinney, you'll be gone in 6 months.
anon 2:21 typifies everything that I don't want in comments on this blog.
1) The poster is anonymous.
2) The comment has nothing to do with what I wrote in my first post.
3) Only time will tell how long I stay with The Saratogian, and regardless of that, the length of my stay here has nothing to do with my ability to write a daily blog... so please leave your unfounded judgments at home.
Andrew,
Better thicken your skin a little.
Anon 2:21's comment is relevant to your role with the Saratogian and the history of mismanagement at the paper. Good coverage of the news is to some degree related to stability in the reporting crew.
In many ways anonymous comments add more honesty and freshness to the dialogue which is one of the main purposes of a blog.
When you make your blog public you invite the full range of responses. Being a journalist I'm sure you have strong feelings for freedom of speech.
Good Luck!
Blue Dog --
I agree with you that the comment was relevant to my role at the paper, and the paper's management, but like I said, there are other places to critique this paper's management.
I'd like this blog to focus on issues facing the city, and not on me as a person.
Hi Andrew,
Looking forward to your posts.
Blogs were helpful to me before I moved here. The more Saratoga blogs the merrier!
Cheers,
Ellen
"I will publish anonymous comments, but only because I want people to comment on my blog, and I know that you can't throw a rock in Saratoga without hitting a coward who won't stand behind their own words."
Well Andrew, you’ll be permitted a learning curve and time to develop a tougher skin.
The often caustic anonymous "Shout Out" columns that rarely deal with issues, instead Blombardoing (a transitive verb that means to be attacked vigorously and persistently through the local paper, with often little chance of a timely rebuttal opportunity) public and private citizens seems to be fair game for your employer. While you caution us not to show hostility towards our local Pravda newspaper, recognize that selectively editing comments to fit your ideas and concerns will doom this blog. Repetitive obscene, unfounded imbecilic venting on the other hand might be returned or dismissed.
For an idea, you might consider researching how many people employed by the City (and pay its taxes for services) actually live here. Not to be confused with our enlarged, bloated, “Never Found a Good Reason Not To Spend Money” School District, it would make for an interesting discussion if not blog experience. You might break it out by City Departments. The answer is for the asking in City Hall and the results take one’s breath away in light of all those so quick to demand higher taxes for the rest. Even the affordability advocates are often well outside the line of financial responsibility. Maybe “Who lives Here?” would be a good read for the print paper as well.
As far as anonymity is concerned, you have a lot to learn before being judgmental. As far as 9:31 is concerned, did anything that I wrote become food for thought? Do you really need to know who I am, google me, locate me on a map, to appreciate and digest my opinion? I'll save the praises till later, but I will also wish you (anonymously) the best of good luck and you won't have to kiss my _ _ _ for saying so.
Andy,
Let's knock'em dead here. Those blogs like disutopia and i-saratoga are to one sided. Hopefully you will be more open minded.
Andrew-
You just may be the right man in the right place. Our local city issues are BigTime Heavy and the overall media coverage has been Journalism Lite.
One thought from an old lifelong journalist & political activist-- As I stated before our City Council, anonymity is the last refuge of cowardice. At the bottom of our Declaration of Independence you'll find names, REAL names, signed with pride and conviction.
Those who scurry in the shadows will always have their beloved Sound Off. It is my fervent hope that you raise the bar... if only in this one small corner of cyberspace.
Write On!
Kyle York
KY 3:04: "At the bottom of our Declaration of Independence you'll find names, REAL names, signed with pride and conviction."
Is it really so hard to find upstanding men like the US Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, US President James Madison and Supreme Court Justice John Hay who wrote The Federalist Papers in 1777-78 under the anonymous name of Publius anymore – or is it just me?
While it can be said, that they presented arguments for the ratification of the Constitution, they were forced to write anonymously (to a nonpartisan public) so that their message would be the subject of discussion not, who they were.
So, by suggesting that you are proud and have convictions by signing your NAME, those gentlemen did also, BY NOT SIGNING theirs. It was not about those qualities that you would have us all to believe.
You have to wonder what these heroes as framers of the Constitution, would think today, of your judgmental disposition (see now you have to wonder also if people will be saying "Kyle is judgemental" instead of just musing over an anonymous discussion?)?
I concur that the character assassinating “shout out” feature and the anonymous screename posts that focus on depraved sensationalism is unfortunate, but would add that they are a product of the medium. By refraining from baiting and criticizing perhaps, we can raise the bar?
8:13:
The other concern would be that once said and posted it stays around for eternity. Google anyone whose been publicly maligned, and the salacious comment will be there for their sons and daughters of their sons and daughters to read. While surviving parchment in the hands of a limited readership was most likely not the concern of those honorable men, writing anonymously and simply trying to get the message out without shooting the messengers probably was?
3:15 “I'd like this blog to focus on issues facing the city, and not on me as a person.”
Precisely – I couldn’t have said it better, Andrew.
And for those who cannot resist obscene caterwauling, try it without personal names. If you make your point, we’ll all know whom you are writing about. You know, what’s his/her name?
Kyle York, David Bronner, Remiga Foy,Elliot Masie, Roger Wyatt,Gordon Boyd,Lou Benton and Phil Diamond. These are names I would not compare to those on the Declaration of Independence. All are people that constantly want to be in the spotlight. Others prefer
anonymity. Thank you Andy!
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