You found us!
If you could read my mind...you'd know that I wasn't dead. Oopsie by Canwest. (Great screen grab by ChrisD.ca)
What a day on the Interweb tubes!
First, there was the big Laura Secord story this morning. It’s back in Canadian hands, but we (people on Twitter) discovered that this chocolate has left town.
Thank goodness we have the awesome chocolate of Kerstin and Sweet Lollapalooza to fill our bellies. If it gets cold again I think some drinking chocolate from Kerstin’s is in order… (We’ve also been chatting up Edmonton chocolate spots at our Facebook page.)
Then, this afternoon, Gordon Lightfoot died. For about 25 minutes. Online only.
I love how people are blaming Twitter, an inanimate social media platform, for the rumours. Unless the machines are about to take over I don’t think “Twitter” was spreading rumours. I think people were. And they were using Twitter as they would their voice, e-mail or a pen and paper. Oh, and once you mix in some major news outlets, you get why this can spread. (Check the screen capture, from Winnipeg blog Chris D.ca, above.)
Where’s TMZ when you need them? Can Shaw buy that too?
But…onto what I actually wanted to ask you: How’d you get here?
I’ve recently aquired a sweet new BlackBerry, and my venture into the realm of smartphones has been great. I just got an RSS feed reader and I’ve never been more on top of my blog reading!
I also noticed, in our own visit stats (now Edmonton’s 93rd favourite blog), that more people are coming to our website and our stories via our RSS feed rather than just plunking theedmontonian.com into a browser. That blew me away! Until I got my feed reader.
So, I’m just curious, are you coming to the website directly, following links off Twitter, catching up with us on Facebook or waiting for your RSS reader to alert you?
There are no wrong answers. Heck, you could even be doing some combination of all of that.
But I want answers, Edmonton!
My Twitter is 1
This week, I’ll have been using Twitter for one year.
It seems like only yesterday I was sending out those first tweets about getting on Twitter, and not knowing what Twitter was, and saying “Hi” to the few people I knew on Twitter.
Now I smile when I see a new account and that person has their first “Finally on this thing…” tweet.
This blog has a lot to thank Twitter for. While I was on Twitter (Man, this could be a drinking game…drink whenever I say Twitter.) as myself months before the edmontonian existed, the micro-blogging service has been the biggest source of getting our word out.
Facebook has been good too. And every once and a while we kick up our YouTube channel. Heck, we’re even on Flickr (in name only right now). But Twitter has ruled them all.
It’s been great to send out links to our stories. And there’s always interaction on Twitter about our stories, it doesn’t all have to happen back here.
It’’s been even greater to chat with everyone in Edmonton. Yeah, that’s the best part.
People are always linking to the most hilarious memes.
Twitter didn’t seem to have any appeal to me, at first. Then a friend of mine jumped on, and I followed when I wanted to start blogging.
It’s been a great way to engage with all kinds of smart people I’d never have the chance of meeting in the day-to-day world. Not only did our paths cross online, I’ve since met many tweeps out in reality.
I think the conversations (yes, even in 140 character bursts) have been the best part of Twitter for me. I hope to continue the conversation with those I’ve talked with, start new talks, chat with new people, and keep pushing the great ideas that start at 140 characters into the real world.
Not on Twitter? Here’s where you go.
Make me into a classy dame, Edmonton
Look, I have something of a secret to confess. I don’t partake in the arts all that much.
Sure, I catch a band here and there, see something at the Fringe, I even talk about the new art gallery. All the time. But I don’t really head out to the theatre, opera or high-arts much. Or at all. I make up for my lack of culture with delicious sarcasm.
This is why I need your advice, Edmonton. I’m heading to the symphony this Saturday (for Broadway Rocks) and I don’t know what to wear, how I should act, or anything else that might end up being pertinent.
All advice is welcome. Make me into a beautiful swan. (Or at least a guy who won’t make an ass of himself at a classy joint.)
It’s just you and me now, Edmonton
Hey there, Edmonton.
You’re looking good. Have you lost some weight? That haircut really suits you.
Look, I know you totally love Sally and think she’s awesome for taking on big business, mind-numbing city hall meetings, and other important Edmonton stuff in her hilarious, straight-shooting style. But, if you’ve been paying close attention the last few weeks you might have noticed a lack of Sally ’round these parts.
As Sally mentioned, her life in the glamorous TV industry came to an end, due
mostly to the fact that industry is on pretty shaky ground these days. So, she’s heading back to school to re-educate and take on this wired world.
I expect she’ll have plenty of homework I’m not smart enough to help her with, so she’s going to need time to study and get her dioramas done. That means the edmontonian will be all Jeff all the time.
(Except for all the wonderfully amazing times people contribute. Those times will not be Jeff-time and shall remain the time of said contributor.)
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to Staples to stock up our little student for the school year.
(Thanks to Teresa for the Staples link.)
Time to say thanks
Since we weren’t around all of 2009 we won’t fill this blog with top 10 this and best of that.
(To clarify, we were alive the whole time, the website just wasn’t around the entire year).
I hope "Looking dumb in photos" ends up a needed job skill one day.
We might mention 2009, or review it, but we’re not going full-out. Maybe we’ll just keep doing things whenever we like and review it in June or something.
Instead, I’ll ease back from the holidays by simply saying thanks.
Thank you for reading stuff we put up on this website. It continues to blow me and Sally away that people come here. Thank you for contributing your own ideas. Thanks for letting us post your stuff and sharing it with more people. Those last two are great because we always wanted this to be a conversation between Edmontonians.
Thanks for talking Edmonton, and really trying to figure out what this city is all about and what it could be. There’s lots of talk today about complaining vs. acting and what makes a city a good place to live. I think complaining is fun, but there really is a point where you either keep doing that or suck it up and try to fix what you don’t like.
Thanks for indulging my news nerdiness and reading the boring old headlines each morning. It’s fantastic that people want to be informed, and neat that I can help point you in some of the right directions. It’s also great to know people want to be more media-savvy.
Thanks for sticking with us when we take time off.
Thanks to those who’ve dropped our name, chatted about (and with) us on radio and podcasts, scooped up our story ideas, linked to our website and become new friends. That’s all super-neat-o number 1.
As for 2010, it’s cool that people come to the website and give it a reason to keep on existing. So, we’ll keep writing, keep asking you to contribute, keep asking you for your thoughts and see where this all ends up.
Thanks again.
- Jeff
Festivus Letter from the Editor
Whatever you’ll be celebrating over the holidays, I hope it’s good and fun and warm. If there’s a giant amount of food that’s all the better.
Since I’m already noticing people zipping off to the weekend I think we’ll also scale things back for the Christmas weekend. We’ll be around the next week, though I think we’ll substitute rest and turkey for some of our blogging.
Be sure to check in on us if you’re looking for something to do while relaxing by the fireplace on your bearskin rug with your laptop. There will be an extra mug of Internet cocoa waiting here for you.
If we’re still around next year, and you find us on your holiday shopping list, we are on the hunt for a new Festivus pole for 2010.
If we get you in the Secret Santa, you can be sure you’ll be getting a clock.
Merry Happy,
Jeff
Less like a present and more like a flag than I'd hoped...
You would have loved him
Hello there, Edmonton.
Things are going to be a little slow around these parts as I’m off to a funeral this week. Thanks for your patience. One of the tough parts about it, as it relates to you, is that you won’t have a chance to get to know the guy who would’ve been your favourite correspondent.
The story behind this photo in the "more" section, or click on the photo.
Back in the summer, when Sally and I Skyped for the first time we had the idea of getting our longtime friend and former roommate, Damien Evans, to act as our Ontario Bureau Chief. We were on a “bureau chief” kick at that point. Damien and I also went to college together so I know he would have had the camera presence down, with the broadcast journalism background.
Having more to do with outright hilarity, and not award-winning journalism, we likely would have searched the term “Edmonton” at the Toronto Star’s website and chatted with Damien about whatever stories came up in the search.
It would have been great because Damien was great. His “reports” from the centre of our country would have been something you looked forward to. I just have a feeling about that.
I think you would have enjoyed it because Damien is that guy who always has a story. He’s always got something new to tell you about, he’s always found himself in new and fun kinds of trouble. Even when he didn’t seek out fun, or happen upon it, he would be the person to create the event.
Lots of people say they will live life to the fullest, or they attempt to, Damien did that. I don’t even know if he had to try very hard. It always seemed that he was in a good mood, having a good time.
Being a hockey town, we surely would have chatted sports with Damien at some point. Not only did he bring years of professional wresting (!), grappling, college intramural floor hockey and dodgeball to the table, he was once a catcher with a continuing passion for baseball. He still scored baseball games, at home, when I’m pretty sure I didn’t know that existed anymore.
A Toronto FC season ticket holder, he loved soccer (so he would have been a perfect ringer for my trivia team which stinks at soccer questions) and he could have provided us with his thoughts on some pro soccer in Edmonton.
It really wouldn’t have mattered if there was anything to talk about between Edmonton and Ontario. Damien was funny, smart, generous and had the biggest heart of anyone I’ve known. He was a good soul.
He would have charmed you as he did everyone he met. I’ve seen the guy make new friends in a matter of minutes, in the most random of places, so I can’t see why he wouldn’t have taken on all of Edmonton as a friend.
I miss him. I’m so glad I had a chance to meet him, and call him my friend. Right now, he’s the best reminder that life is unpredictable, and sometimes too short, so you need to stop messing around and enjoy it.
I really am disappointed you won’t get the chance to know Damien. You would have loved him.
We are now Unknown
Once or twice around here we’ve probably dropped the name of a locally produced podcast called “The Unknown Studio.”
Today’s note is all about Sally and I being guests on the latest episode of the show.
We had a great conversation about media, news, Edmonton, community and a bunch of other stuff I can’t remember. We also had a great time, since the hosts (Adam and Scott) have razor sharp wit and always ask good questions.
Final edit notwithstanding, we also talked about websites such as the edmontonian and podcasts like The Unknown Studio and the place they’re finding in the media realm. We discussed the fact they are welcomed as media or news ventures but the people behind the venture need to recognize the responsibility that comes with that.
Enough of me boring you, head over to The Unknown Studio website to listen to the show. While you’re there, I’d recommend listening to their earlier programs – all worth your time. You can also have The Unknown Studio update directly to your iPod since it’s on iTunes.
Unknown hosts Scott (at the computer) Adam (with the beard) and guest Sally prepare for podcast glory.
Supplying the regular media with ideas since 2009
We first called out Commerce Place, on their inability to fix one little door, in August.
Hey, traditional media, anytime you like one of our stories we can save you guys some time working on it if you just drop us a line. We’ll do it for standard freelance rates, nothing fancy.
Then, you know, you could work on investigative news that people (like us) with day jobs can’t do.
But it is super-flattering.
SEE jumped onto our bandwagon nearly 3 months later.
Letter from the Editor – Oops
Is there stuff much better than a fit, exercise, guy wearing a Fatburger shirt? Nope.
Good day, dear Edmonton.
It was hinted at by Paul, and yes, this is a slow week here at the edmontonian. I’m on vacation, ya’ll.
Not vacay. Don’t you dare call it that.
But, also as you’ve probably noticed, things are still happening here. So, come on by and see what’s up. If you’re new to the place, why not delve into our backlog and see what we’ve been up to.
And since I’m still hanging around, if you’ve got an idea or two, or an event you’ve attended, just let me know and we’ll see if you can’t be the latest contributor.
- Jeff
the edmontonian just got a lot more sally
That's right, I'm back...bringing down both the average I.Q. and average income of Edmontonians!
Hello Friendmonton. Thanks for being here. We need to have a talk about something.
Kids, I have lost my job. Now, I don’t want you kids to be scared, because I know there is a certain standard of living we’ve all grown accustomed to, and that you guys don’t want anything to change. We may have to tighten our belts a bit in the short term, but Derjis, you can still play hockey this year and Paul, we can still afford your clarinet lessons. We’re just going to have to pull together as a family and do the best we can in these tight economic times.
This is not your fault. It’s nobody’s fault. Well, I was downsized from a less than popular local TV station that wanted to centralize their commercial production in Calgary, so it’s sort of their fault. And also maybe the fault of the CRTC. And also the fault of an inherently flawed infrastructure for local TV, established in the 1960s that we, for some reason, have continued to use despite its increasing irrelevance.
BUT- it’s not you kids’ fault. Jeff and I still love you all very much. And the upside is that I’m going to be around a lot more now. I’ll be here when you guys get to work in the morning, and when you come home from school at night. I’ll be here baking cookies, and helping you with your homework and barging into your bedrooms because g.d. it, I have told you a million times DOOR STAYS OPEN when you have boys in here!
But I digress. I just wanted to say that I haven’t been a very good blogger to you kids over the last few weeks, and all that changes starting now.
Letter from the Editor – Falling over you
This is one of my first glimpses of autumn.
We don’t ask a lot of you here, at the edmontonian.
(Oh, except that you read our stuff, keep coming back to the website, contribute your own stuff, tell your friends about the website, give us money in birthday cards, tell us we’re pretty…)
But I’m feeling very fally (is that a thing?) and think we should try and put a positive spin on the changing of the seasons.
The leaves are changing colours, and dropping quite quickly, and the summer warmth is quickly fading to memory. But we don’t have to be sad (though it’s our choice to mope).
No, we can embrace the golds and yellows of fall, enjoy the crunch under our feet and witness the slow build up of clothing layers.
If you happen to catch any of that with your camera, let me know. I’d love to feature some of your visions (or video) of fall in Edmonton right here. It might just be enough to get us to the Thanksgiving long weekend with a smile.
(We already got one photo, capturing the summer fading away, here, from our friend Deja.)
Letter from the Editor – Jeff – Aug 31/09
Thanks for visiting! (And, apologies to Gabe Kaplan.)
We’re back!
Thanks for letting us sneak away for the week. (Sneak away from the website, anyway, we’ve got respectable jobs too.)
One of the big changes you’re going to notice is all our new pop-up ads!
We know this is what people want in a website and we’re going to deliver.
There will be ads that pop-up in front of you, others that drop down from the top of the screen and some that will roll around to try and block you from clicking on actual content.
What?
Oh, that’s right. Pop-up ads are stupid.
Consider them banned at this website. (I don’t think we can be paid enough money to use pop-ups.) And, consider me throwing down that challenge to every other media website in Edmonton.
Mostly, last week was a pause that was to refresh us. We hope that we can keep hitting you with all kinds of Edmonton stuff – from neat people and blogs and websites, to photos of the city (and all those little things that make a city interesting and odd), news and events – to keep you coming back for more.
We’ll also have our Back to School Blowout ready for the return to school.
And don’t forget that we want you to be driving the conversation. Let us know about cool websites, events, stories (that are out there and that are yet to be covered), people and businesses. We’ll point others in those directions, and we’ll ask you to write for us.
Not in that, “We’re big media and you’re so lucky we’re offering you a venue,” kind of way, but because you know better than others what you’re seeing and hearing on the streets of Edmonton and we want to make sure those experiences are shared.
Let’s see, what else is new around here? There’s our new Facebook Page (become a fan today!), and you can check out how to contribute. We’ll be posting our advertising policy (and how YOU can advertise) and our editorial policy soon.
Thanks for choosing the edmontonian. We know you have a lot of website choices out there and we’re glad you’re with us.
- Jeff Samsonow
Why Duncan Paterson of Magic 99 is mine and Jeff’s new BFF
Duncan Paterson of Magic 99
No, it’s not just because he likes nachos, which I can’t guarantee he does because I don’t know him. I will say that this picture would certainly suggest a solid pro-nacho stance, for which one can only respect a person.
No, it’s because he’s been giving us shout-outs this week on Magic 99’s morning show! That’s pretty awesome of you to do, sir! Listen to this clip from Duncan’s show, you guys!
You can listen to Magic 99 online here, and read Duncan’s blog here. Ol’ D.P., as Jeff and I like to call Duncan during the times when we hang out and have nachos (which is never) is a pretty funny dude, and he made me LOL when he suggested that Joe Sakic and Harry Connick Jr. may be the same person.
So I guess this means we’re kind of a big deal. …I’m just sayin’.
So anyway, thanks Duncan! And if you want to have a nacho night with me & Jeff, just drop us a line. Maybe you can come over and we’ll deep-fry some stuff.
Letter from the Editor – Sally – August 18
Well, hello, Edmonton. Or, as I like to call you guys, Friendmonton. Can we have a little talk?
So we’ve been at this for two months now, and the time has come to re-evaluate. We’re going to making a few changes around here, but in order to do that, we have to dial back the blogging quota. TEMPORARILY.
You see, the edmontonian kind of grew legs A LOT faster than we anticipated. This has left us chasing it around, trying to figure out how to harness the power of the INTERNETS, which has proven extra tricky given our hectic blogging schedules. So for the rest of this week, expect fewer posts, but more love.
As always, we will still welcome, appreciate and adore your contributions, so keep ‘em coming!
The other thing we should tell you guys is that we’re going to be taking next week off, so that we can try to get our affairs in order. What this means is not entirely clear to us at this point, but if things start looking a little different around here, don’t panic. We will be back, and we will continue to be awesome.
So thank you for your patronage to this point, and we really hope you guys can hang in there with us for the next month or so as we try to figure out what lies ahead for the edmontonian. For all our smart aleck remarks, I want you guys to know that I am truly and profoundly touched that you would spend your time with us. I am honored every single day to be able to talk to you guys, hear your questions and opinions and learn about all the cool stuff you’re doing.
If we’ve learned anything to this point, it’s that the response we’ve received so far can only augur a vibrant future for community media, and the future of our city. I was born and raised here, and I don’t know that I have ever had more pride in, or hope for, Edmonton than I have developed in the last eight weeks.
[A note from Jeff: Pretty much what Sally said. (Oh, except that I didn't grow up in Edmonton.) Things took off quickly, we want to make sure things are awesome for you, so we need to get our Internet in order by slowing the posts down for a few days, cooling our jets next week, then totally kicking the Internet in the face upon our return. Peace.]
*drops microphone*
Letter from the Editor – Sally – August 12/09
I know letters from the editor are supposed to offer some kind of insight into a publication and/or its staff. But I think I’ve made it abundantly clear by this point that I don’t have a lot of insights to offer, in any capacity. Besides, I have something way more pressing that I need some help with.
What the hell is this? It was parked outside my house last night. It looks like an economy car the pope would ride around in. If he was the delivery man at a bakery. In outer space.
Seriously, WTF is this? Do people drive these?
Letter from the Editor – Jeff – Aug 11/09
This is more a pre-emptive kind of letter, before you get all up in my business about the business of Edmonton.
We are all about Edmonton here at the edmontonian, as I think our daily pile of posts can attest. You may, however, have recently noticed one or two entertainmenty stories popping up.
Living in a metropolitan area of one-million people we get plenty of bands and artists swinging through, whether as part of larger festivals or just on their own tours. That’s a part of living in the big city and that’s something worth celebrating via previews, reviews and interviews. I’ve lived in smaller places and I know what it’s like to only hear about such things happening elsewhere.
Movies, you say, Hollywood movies aren’t from Edmonton!
True, I agree (because you’re so smart), but the movie is showing at theatres in Edmonton and plenty of people in this fair city will be seeing the movie and talking about it at work (instead of doing actual work). Plus, our writers and reviewers are all from Edmonton.
It’s a grey area, I know. But I think if we stick to talking about Edmonton and talking with Edmontonians (and hearing from you) we remain 100% Edmonton.
Now, here’s a picture of something 100% Edmonton:
Techincally the water comes from outside of Edmonton...
Letter from the Editor – Jeff – August 4/09
You have to make a lot of tough calls in a regular, 24-hour, newsroom. I don’t envy people making those calls.
Newsrooms are under constant pressure to churn things out in the 24-hour news world, and that means they’re bound to get things wrong (as a former reporter for radio stations across the country, I’ve been there). There’s also the ongoing case of stories running without all the facts, perhaps to be added later.
Last week it was clear how tough things can be for the 24-hour newsrooms.
The recent story of police officers being swarmed by a group of teens is the kind of thing that grabs headlines, nay, creates headlines, and makes people want to watch and listen. It’s the sort of story that will fill talk radio with middle aged folks wagging their fingers, and saying it’s time to “teach young punks” some respect.
I mean, it’s not every day a police officer is assaulted (thankfully) and it touches a nerve that even those who protect us can still be vulnerable. But how do you tell this story in an even-handed way?
Because, as we all know, news isn’t a movie or television plot; in real life, things are rarely as black and white as we’d like. It’s incredibly difficult to get these stories across to the greater public in a fair way. It’s tough for a lot of crime stories, actually.
I bring this up because the accused in this swarming case is telling the Edmonton Journal police have it wrong. It’s easy to dismiss this as someone trying to defend their name. But sometimes the story does end up being very different from the initial version.
Days before this story of violence, a case of assaulting a police officer was thrown out of court by a judge. Here, the judge says the police officer went too far. It took the trial process to get more on the case. The information wasn’t readily available or provided at the headline-grabbing stage.
(Notes: The case could always be appealed and there are still other legal avenues being pursued. I’m also not linking the two stories to say this latest one will be thrown out.)
So what do you do? Do you just put up a little blurb mentioning the charges and wait for details at court?
The fear there would be that your competition will have a front page or top story all about the charges and people will wonder why you didn’t do anything more than a brief update.
Though, the days following the Journal story with the accused show that not everyone went full-out on that story. Even the Journal went from the front page with the assault allegations to page B4, with the story from the accused teen.
Another example of why newsrooms should ease up on the crime headlines (or work on the story thoroughly before publishing) is right here; this story was all about how four teens beat a man to death on an ETS bus. Turned out that’s not at all what happened. Again, things had to go to court before all the facts could be learned.
I think limiting sensational headlines (and possibly, most of the sensational story), especially when details are coming from one side, would be a start.
It would take bold newsroom decisions though. You might have to work on the story for a couple of days, watching the other guys produce stories one fact at a time, before you could give a full and/or fair balance.
It might also take some feature and in-depth reporting to make up for the lack of easy-to-cover stories. But wouldn’t it be better to have the story correct, all the way through?
Letter from the Editor – Jeff – July 27/09
It's so, long.
I’ve let you down, Edmonton.
In an ongoing effort to produce all Edmonton all the time, I didn’t keep my eye on the ball.
I think I missed out on telling you about one of the biggest local stories of the year. I just hope one of the real newsrooms in the city brought this this tale to you.
While it’s not an excuse, I will present in my defense the fact I was busy preparing a grocery list of foods to be deep-fried this weekend. It’s not an excuse because it had “bad idea” written all over it.
You have no idea what I do for you, Edmonton.
Letter from the Editor – Jeff – July 20/09
Great view. But when does my wifi kick in?
How do you do it, Edmonton? How do you make time for your passions?
Not that this website is the greatest thing in forever to come along and rock your world, but I’m pushing hard and going to bed too late. I also was writing for the website last week, while vacationing in Ontario. If I had a Blackberry I’d have been writing from the limo at the wedding of my good friends.
I know that Sally is also squeezing the edmontonian into all minutes of her free time. We also have people sending us photos and stories.
Why am I giving up beautiful sleep for this?
Letter from the Editor – Sally – July 15/09
Better babysitter than Sally.
Edmonton, do you ever wonder what goes into preparing these kinds of local news stories for you? Let me tell you a story that illustrates the kind of adversity we face on a day-to-day basis (and for anyone who was following me on twitter last night, I’m not even going to bring up the guy at KFC who tried to steal my tripod. Because it just got weirder from there).
Last night I headed off to the north end to do a story on E-ville Roller Derby. I arrived at the arena and was about to head inside, when a child ran up to me and asked if I had a phone.
Immediately, I wondered if he knew the KFC tripod guy and if this was some elaborate scam they were running. I asked him why he needed a phone. He told me some kids on the nearby playground had knives and were going to stab him and his friends.
*sigh*
I asked him how old he was.
“Eleven.”
Letter from the Editor – Jeff – July 13/09
This is my airport. (Alright, alright, I'll let it go...)
I’m out of Edmonton this week (on assignment?) so go easy on Sally, Edmonton. While she can certainly do everything by herself (don’t reinforce that though, I want a place to write) maybe this is a good time to send her a few photos, stories and story ideas. Again, not too much stuff, because I need to come back to a job.
It was great to see that, in even a small way, this website inspired our friend Ryan to muse about his Edmonton pride, the things he doesn’t quite like about the city and some ideas to make things better.
Something that struck me in Ryan’s writing (and in mentions from one or two people I’ve talked to about this website) is that I should point out the edmontonian is not a “booster” site. I don’t love this city through all faults. It’s got problems and I always fear it’s going to handcuff me to the bed and leave with my wallet and clothes.
I do see that Edmonton’s got some great attributes (and great people!) and we’ve already been talking about some of the fun events around town. We’re going to keep pointing you in the direction of cool places and interesting ideas. But when there’s something we think needs addressing, or fixing, we’re going to point that out too.
As Ryan’s blog highlights, you don’t have to be on one side or the other. You can like Edmonton but point out things that require changing.
The idea of the edmontonian is to show you all the neat things and interesting people of #yeg, but also talk about what could be better. It’s not about loving or hating outright. It’s about enjoying AND lamenting, while ultimately creating a larger discussion to make the “City of Champions” truly that. But I suppose mostly just metaphorically…since there aren’t a lot of banners being raised these days…
Letter from the editor – Jeff – July 6/09
While I’ve now posted an opinion piece on the Edmonton City Centre Airport (ECCA), I put up a brief update last week that sent you off into the Internet for lots and lots of information.
I hope you’ve taken the time to read up on the airport debate and have sent off an e-mail (or letter, or even a fax) to your city councillor. They need to know what you want to do with that land.
At first I wanted to write a big, wordy, story about the issue. It was going to have history of the airport, and the debate, and lots of information on who wants to keep it open and who wants to turn it into a new neighbourhood. But why waste your time when a few websites had already provided that information?
I would have written a lengthy story if still employed by a media organization that had to prove to advertisers it had all the information its audience could want. But let’s be honest, sometimes those other sources do it first and/or better. Sometimes newsrooms just use the story from the other guys anyway. (Usually through newswire services.)
The great thing about the Internet is that I can check my ego at the (virtual) door and point you to information. Sometimes that’s better than waxing poetic anyway. the edmontonian doesn’t need to be the only website you read, it just has to be part of your Internet checklist for Edmonton stuff.
Thanks for already Bookmarking us. We hope to keep it worth your while.
Letter from the Editor – Comments
My bad for not doing these letters on a regular basis. I mean, you couldn’t publish a magazine without the letter from the editor. Maybe I need to use this as an excuse to get a better phone with more calendar options…
Anyway.
Told to call someone who cares? We care.
We are pleased to see more and more commenting going on. (Even more pleasing is when it’s not just our friends coming to the website.)
It got really busy last week when a new contributor explained why he felt the City Centre Theatre was a great secret of the city. So many people had so many things to say.
We love when you interact with all of our writers. (We’d love for you to write for us, too.) Just try and remember that tearing strips off someone for expressing their opinion isn’t cool, but hilarious and logical counter-arguments are game. If we keep on point we can really learn some good stuff about other people in Edmonton.
(Selfishly, keeping on point, and limiting pure anger and flame wars, also means less time required on comment moderation.)
We also hope people can spend as much time engaging in debate when we talk about other important things, such as why political affairs need to matter in your life. Any comments?
Sep 21, 2009 | Categories: Letter(s) from the Editor(s) | Tags: comments, jeff, letter from the editor | Comments Off