Random thoughts on the passing local blogging scene

(With apologies to Thomas Sowell.)

Many local residents, particularly those with children under his care (this group includes my significant other) were shocked and horrified to hear about the auto accident last Wednesday involving local pediatrician Dr. Jose Alvarado; sadly, late last night he succumbed to his injuries.

I don’t believe I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Alvarado but by all accounts his shoes will be difficult to fill and he will be missed by a wide circle of family, friends, a host of hospital associates and staff, and most particularly patients – some of whom eventually brought their children to the kind doctor they grew up seeing.

But his passing brought up a lot of thoughts and questions I have about the local blogging scene.

First, let’s go back to the day it happened. One local blogger (I’ll call him Blogger A) jumped the gun and said Dr. Alvarado had died. Obviously that created confusion for family and friends and when the truth came out Alvarado was still alive but in grave condition Blogger A had a LOT of egg on his face to wipe off (plus a retraction to make). In days of old spreading that sort of misinformation could get you run out of town on a rail.

His archnemesis, who I’ll call Blogger G, correctly pointed out that Blogger A had jumped to a conclusion before hearing the full story, gleefully bashing Blogger A. But aside from that, what contribution to the public knowledge was made?

Apparently none, because the next day the Alvarado family released a statement saying “members of our local media and local blog owners please respect their privacy”. (Emphasis mine.)

Blogger A blamed Blogger G for creating the negative perception by pointing out the mistake Blogger A had retracted, while Blogger G continued to blame Blogger A for making the erroneous statement in the first place. Again, what was learned?

The same person who told Blogger A last night that Dr. Alvarado died simultaneously (I presume based on his post time) sent me a text message regarding that fact. However, I didn’t notice this until later because I was otherwise engaged watching a Shorebirds game with Kim (my s.o.) last night. I’m not saying this as an excuse for why I didn’t post it, I’m saying this because this ongoing war of words between Blogger A and Blogger G escalated further during the accident aftermath with the family of Dr. Jose Alvarado being not just innocent victims of a tragic accident snuffing out the life of a dedicated and caring physician but also becoming collateral damage in a juvenile war that’s gone too far for too long.

In the interest of full disclosure, on at least three different occasions I have been asked by Blogger A or Blogger G to affiliate with their websites and crosspost, and on all those occasions I declined. While there would be an obvious readership increase because my writing would be placed on a different (and perhaps larger) stage I’ve politely refused because I thought the remainder of the subject matter therein wasn’t a particularly good platform for my work. I have chosen instead to crosspost with four other blogs: two are almost strictly political (one Maryland-based and the other of national scope), one is mainly political but delves into other life issues (it’s based in Delaware so many of my Delaware-based items crosspost there), and the fourth agreement mainly exists as payback to Blogger A for slighting a friend of mine – but I haven’t contributed there in over a year.

Personally I think Salisbury is growing weary of the childish games being played by both supposedly grown men. If you believe Blogger G and those who support him, the sole reason Blogger A gets readers is the same reason some watch NASCAR and root for the 14-car pileup. But if you believe Blogger A and his followers, Blogger G (and those others in this area who aren’t currently affiliated with Blogger A) has too puny of a readership to matter anyway.

I’ve also found it irksome that on numerous occasions both men have vowed to turn over a new leaf then days later returned to form. Each seems to need some bogeyman on whom to blame the issues we all face as Salisbury-area residents and they conveniently turn to assailing one or more when things go wrong. (Admittedly, the list of Blogger A targets is much, much longer.)

That’s not to say either Blogger A or Blogger G aren’t doing some good for the community, particularly in plugging local charitable events and causes. But the additional readership comes at a cost because followers on one blog may see the other’s involvement as a reason not to support the event. Is that petty? Certainly. But it’s real and detrimental to the improvement of the community they claim to love.

Another victim of this blowback could be all the great new blogs (those are a few examples) which have surfaced locally in the last several months. These two are sucking all of the oxygen out of the room with their petty battles.

It reminds me again of an incident from 2006.  Three years after the fact I’m still incensed that a candidate – from my side, no less – called local blogs a “cancer” on the community because one brought up his past work on the zoo commission. That was essentially the work of one blogger but the statement tarred all of us with a broad brush. At the time, many weren’t familiar with the local blogging scene and it gave us a reputation which we are still trying to clean off that goo today. (Others seem to wallow in it – cases in point, Blogger A and Blogger G.)

I’m not naive enough to deny that most blogs have an agenda of some sort; even those which claim to be “news” will slant the stories at least a little to suit them as they see fit. (It’s why I say “news and views”.)

But readers need to consider the track record and, more importantly, the motivation of those who put out the “news” as well, particularly in this important time. Who are they trying to make look good, and how are they making the opponents look bad? 

I honestly hope that the latest incident forces readers to reevaluate their local news reading habits. I’m not saying all this to toot my own horn – you don’t have to come here for breaking news because that’s not my strength. (If you want a more in-depth analysis of local political items though feel free to stop back.)

I know that sooner or later either Blogger A or Blogger G is going to win their little war. With all the other issues we have, though, the fewer people who involve themselves in that fight, the better off we will all be.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer. View all posts by Michael