Jack McElroy, Knoxville News-Sentinel editor, reports:
Frank Gibson, director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, is moving to a new role. Starting next week, he’ll be public policy director for the Tennessee Press Association. The good news is that he’ll continue to battle for government access in that job.
Even though it will be interesting to see where the time comes from, I will soon be blogging about elections and politics on three sites: here, Chattarati, and…
I have accepted an opportunity to be a “citizen journalist” for the Huffington Post, more or less with a specific assignment: the battleground race in Tennessee’s Eighth Congressional District. I’ll be writing a weekly roundup on the race and, as my schedule permits, I’ll be attending campaign-related events in the district. (I’ve only been to one spot in the whole territory, not counting driving through on I-40 a couple of times, so my geographical knowledge—what is “Hoots proper” versus “outer Hoots,” and so on—will grow over time.)
The Huffington Post (or, as we call it down at the shop, “HuffPo”) was launched by Arianna Huffington in 2005, and has quickly gained recognition and has received awards as a national leader in online journalism. It was ostensibly conceived as a progressive antidote to conservative sites like Drudge Report, but I want it to be clear that I strive to write from a nonpartisan, neutral perspective, no matter where I log in.
I’ll post more info later this week, like, where exactly on the Internet you’ll be able to find my new blog. I’m excited to be a small part of this important election cycle.
So, to get started, what do you want to see covered?
Up early on Sunday mornings? Sure, why not? Be a radical.
If you are, tune in to WPLZ 95.3 FM this Sunday, August 22, from 8:00-9:00 a.m. for “Generations” with host Maurice Lewis, a veteran news anchor from Boston who has recently made Chattanooga his home. The show is aimed at Baby Boomers and seniors, but you young bucks should feel free to listen and call in too. The number is (423) 702-9111.
I’ll be on to talk about how Chattanooga citizens can best cope with recent water quality fee and property tax increases, which I have a feeling may lead to other topics. Ahem. And wait until you hear who the other guest is. It will be a reunion of sorts. Yes, I’m going to tease you like that.
If you just don’t do AM/FM, you can listen on the Web or, with a little work, on some mobile devices. Check the Pulse website for details.
Election Day dawns with hopeful, energized sign-wavers literally wearing the t-shirts, and continues with voters eager to exercise their rights and do their duty. Election night starts off with high anticipation; but for everyone except the winners, it quickly takes on a somber, even dejected mood.
The morning after? That’s when thoughts turn from “what the hell just happened?” to “what the hell was I thinking?”
Those of us in the media (mainstream or otherwise) have such moments as well. We pride ourselves on being savvy, we know how to track trends and polls and all manner of glorified guesses. An upset is good in that it creates more news, and more opportunities for punditry, but it’s not that great in the sense that it undermines the trust we like to feel we have gained from our readers, listeners, and viewers. Or, as WRCB anchor David Carroll put it this morning, “All us ‘experts’ can now explain every race, every upset, and why they happened. Yet this time yesterday we had no idea.”
I haven’t asked, but I guess this might be how the weather guys and gals feel too, when it rains on your picnic after they predicted sunny and 72. Maybe traffic is where it’s at; but getting back to the subject: there sure were some wrecks last night.
Besides heavy political donors, one group that have to be feeling the sting today are the campaign workers. Not those for local races, they’re fine; I’m talking about the congressional and gubernatorial campaign staffers. These semi-nomadic worker bees toil day and night, and churn out one fluffy PR piece or nasty attack after the other, and when the this day comes, many of them have done it all for next to nothing. To where will they float next?
Even the winners’ helpers are “over it,” as the kids used to say. I asked one campaign official, whose candidate squeaked out a win in a hard-fought primary, if he was looking forward to perhaps moving to Washington, D.C., should the candidate wax successful in November. “I’m looking forward to going to bed,” he exhaled, explaining that he had been up for approximately 20 hours at that point, and that the past few weeks had seen many similar days.
Here is a cold-light-of-day dedication to all the supporters and campaign workers, paid and otherwise, whose candidates did not bring home the trophy last night.
Knoxville Mayor and Tennessee gubernatorial candidate Bill Haslam is celebrating a few things lately—an $8.7 million fundraising haul, a Davidson County GOP straw poll victory—but today he touted a victory in the journalism arena, when three of the state’s leading newspapers published editorials in favor of his candidacy. From left to right (on a map, not politically speaking):
The Memphis Commercial Appeal:
[Haslam] has a sense of perspective and a level of maturity that lift him above his competitors in the GOP race. He has the disposition to work well with members of the Tennessee congressional delegation, members of the General Assembly, local officials, business leaders and the public…GOP voters looking for a candidate who will remain true to core party principles and best represent what is admirable about the people of this state should give strong consideration to Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam.
The Nashville Tennessean:
In looking at the political history and campaign comments of Haslam and his opponents, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey of Blountville and U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp of Chattanooga, it’s clear they share similar views on social issues — abortion, guns, the death penalty. Therefore, the choice comes down to how well each of the candidates would manage the state’s affairs, set policies that will best address the challenges Tennessee faces, and represent the needs of all Tennesseans regardless of where they live, their economic standing and their personal beliefs. It is on those criteria that Bill Haslam emerges, head and shoulders, as the best candidate.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel:
[Haslam’s] management of the city indicates he would manage the state’s affairs with competence as well. Haslam’s campaign has remained positive and focused on the skills he would bring to the governor’s office, despite the sniping of his opponents. He has come off as the most reasonable, civil and thoughtful of the GOP hopefuls.
(I grinned at the Knoxville paper’s tweet about their editorial. It began, “Surprise!”)
Notice anything missing? So did WRCB News Director Derrall Stalvey, who (rhetorically?) wondered aloud about the Chattanooga Times Free Press. As one of the only newspapers in the nation with a split editorial page, the Chattanooga daily typically presents an interesting take.