Aug
31
300 posts!
Filed Under Sunrise on KGMB9
I joined the news team at KGMB9 in August 2007 as a founding “cast member” of the resurrected Sunrise show, which launched on Sept. 17, 2007, and expanded its current 4:30-8:00 a.m. time frame at the start of 2008. Not long after settling in, I began blogging in this space, and I am pleased to tell you that I have now posted here 300 times.
Blogging is a new experience for journalists because the rules are different. You write about what you like. You can freely express opinions. One post may be serious, another whimsical. Some reporters find it difficult. A reporter for a rival station was so appalled by the flames he got when he expressed an opinion that he stopped blogging altogether.
It has been easier for me. Writing a weekly column when I was with Pacific Business News was helpful training. That column started on page 2 and was lighthearted, but moved to the editorial page later, impelling me to try to say something pithy. I got flamed from time to time, but mostly people were very nice, and remain so now, writing not to flame but to explain, as I do, and in the same amiable spirit. I learn from contrary views, even when not persuaded by them, and sometimes I am persuaded.
It is easy to alienate your friends and supporters, one at a time, by taking stands.
My ardently unaligned political stance mystifies the faithful on both sides of the spectrum, who don’t understand how anyone can have a benign view of both Linda Lingle and Ben Cayetano. Two who may find that perplexing are Linda Lingle and Ben Cayetano.
I come from Washington, D.C., so I’m a big fan of rail and think rail opponents are addled — that irks asphalt-huggers by the thousands. The only nice thing they can think of to say about me is that at least I’m open about where I stand so they can evaluate my statements on the matter accordingly.
Labor-management relations are another dicey area. I’ve sat at both ends of the bargaining table and understand both sides. But managements at certain local companies think I’ll never represent their views fairly because I was a sympathetic ear to their unions, and there is one local union whose leadership until recently was convinced I had it in for unions.
It is, in fact, very easy to jump to conclusions about where people stand, and never more so than when you’re reading someone’s blog. So when I hit 300 posts, the only thing it occurred to me to say to my readers is, thank you so much for your friendly forbearance, and the nice way you comport yourself when you email to differ.
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