Newspaper Stifles Local Message On The Web

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On Monday, the Janesville Gazette published an op-ed titled, “Janesville’s Growth Plan Needs Complete Overhaul.” The article was well contrived and an excellent perspective written by a Janesville resident who happens to have a substantial background in urban and regional planning and is also a member of the Janesville Sustainability Committee. Of course, I would have liked to post the entire article on my blog, it was that good. But there’s a problem, and I'll use this article as an example.

If you happen to submit op-ed articles to the Janesville Gazette or send letters to the editors, the work is not published on the open Web, nor is it findable in popular search engines like Yahoo or Google. What does that mean? Fewer people will hear your voice. No, I’ll take that back. The whole world won’t have a chance to hear your voice, whether they want to or not. Unless of course the newspaper commissioned you to write for them, that's different. Then they own the work and can restrict its publication.

Secondly, if you don’t receive the Janesville Gazette or subscribe to their on-line edition, you and I would have never had the chance to read this informative article. Even if you get the hard copy Gazette, there is a chance you may have glossed over the title and didn’t bother to read it. In that case, on that one day and on that one page, if you missed it or threw it out – it’s gone, out of sight and mind forever.

As the primary author on this blog, I’ve also made a commitment to myself that I would never publish full articles without submission or copyright permission from it’s author. With that said and I’ve said this before, I’ve asked my readers and writers to send their written work (on local politics or media) here for publishing on the free and open Web if they don't have another outlet. Remember, whether you send it to your local newspaper or not, and whether they publish it or not, as long as the paper did not pay you for the work, you still own it and can send it anywhere you choose - so others can enjoy the read…..for free.

Now, believe it or not, I’d also understand if you don’t want to send it here because of some political bias or hang up. Okay, but then start your own blog and get it published. The most important thing is to get it published on the open web. I can't stress that enough. Once it's on the open web, others can seek and find your viewpoint, link to it for discussion and email it to other interested parties as well.

There may be a few other local-oriented blogs that may welcome independent work, but I can’t speak for them. Most bloggers won't take other work because of the personal nature to their journals. Rock netroots is meant to be about local politics and the influence exerted by the media to control public opinion, it is not meant to be a recitation of my life or a springboard to become the local savior. In fact, I've gotten some emails criticizing the lack of my personal details on the blog. Rock netroots is not about me.

The other point is, I’m not here to steal or take credit for someone else’s written perspective or thoughts, never have. And I'm not making this overture because of a shortage of content or some grand hallucination to start a new world order. This isn't about visitor hits or trying to turn a buck, the goal is about bringing change and getting the word out, and it all starts at the local level.

So, if you have strong views backed up by a solid core of progressive values and common sense, why allow others to limit your expression? Why not use any and all the tools available to get your viewpoint out? Obviously, the choice is yours.