After having to call the GM of KELO last night about the promo’s for the story (racist comments online) I actually think the story went pretty good.

There was ‘some’ stuff left out that I talked about at length with Angela. I told her one of the reasons why people have become so ‘nasty’ is because of their frustration with politicians, and how voters don’t trust them, especially locally. I told her about the emails and phone calls, and even mailed letters I get about how our local city government is treating people. I have actually made several friends because of it.

I also told her that several prominent state politicians and workers, school district employees and city employees comment and frequent my site, as well as prominent attorneys and business owners in the community. They would never come on and comment if they had to use their real names, hence my comment about ‘limiting’ discussion.

As for Vernon, sour grapes as usual. The reason I posted about that mailing and his daughter was because several people were calling me and emailing me (mostly women) about how creepy the P/C was, since his wife wasn’t included on it. I guess he can twist it however he wants to, but I know Vernon has been bitter about a lot of things over the years, Drake Springs Pool, losing mayor, twice, and lastly because I called his butt out on not informing the city they had an embezzler sitting on the audit committee. Which I still believe Vernon was in the wrong on that one, he could have went to the city attorney quietly and taken care of the matter.

Could more accountability make people more polite?

“Take away that ability for someone to post an anonymous comment on your site. It doesn’t add to the discourse. It doesn’t help anyone understand anything. It doesn’t improve anyone’s life. But requiring people to register with a name and an email address at least gives you the chance you’ll get more of a civil discourse,” Cecil said.

As for what Matt said about using real names, I find it unfortunate he is not teaching his students about the reality of ‘new media’ but hey, what do I care, he’s not my professor.

26 Thoughts on “My thoughts on the KELO interview

  1. Lamb Chislic on February 26, 2013 at 12:59 pm said:

    Ask the Argus how requiring names on their comments has worked out for them? Very little to no dialogue on most stories now.

    And sandwiched between two references to you, DL, and Brown’s postcard mailer was this quote:
    “In one instance, a blogger called me a part-time husband and part-time father. It’s really hurtful to family,” Brown said.

    I went through your archives and found your original post on the postcard mailer. There was no reference to “part-time” anything in your post or the comments. That seems like some pretty careless editing by KELO.

  2. I know, I didn’t recall saying that or even seeing the comment on my site. It must have been another blog. Who cares, he isn’t in office anymore for a reason.

  3. Pathloss on February 26, 2013 at 2:37 pm said:

    There was commentary on CNN about how bloggers are becoming the only way to get real news. There’s a site called hotair.com that exposed why Obama kicked the press out from the governors conference. Important news is not reported by local media. There’s so much scandal and criminal fraud happening in city government. Print and broadcast don’t report because they fear losing city ad revenue. I no longer take the paper because real news comes from here and other blogs. I’m thought I’d need Midco for high speed internet. I know I don’t need local programming for news. Wireless internet is fast now. Direct TV has national network TV and you don’t have to listen to corn commercials.

  4. Pathloss on February 26, 2013 at 2:42 pm said:

    Local media recognizes and answers to their dictator (Huether). When they realize they’ve lost the respect of the population it’ll be to late to reconstruct their business model.

  5. Pathloss on February 26, 2013 at 2:48 pm said:

    It’s like facebook. There will be a major transition surprise. It’s time to advertise blogs on billboards. With present city government, zoning will throw a fit but they can’t do anything. Courts do not recognize city civil procedures and they have no other enforcement method (including fines) that works. I’m surprised there’s not billboards up and down Minnesota Ave. and 41st. Add more state lottery casinos and we have our own Las Vegas strip.

  6. Pathloss on February 26, 2013 at 2:56 pm said:

    I’m liking this idea. Work hard to restore democracy and make money in the process. Not as ‘get rich quick’ as a $100K mayor who becomes a multi-millionaire from city contract kickbacks but this is legal.

  7. The problem is they combined two issues into one story. They can do a lack of civility story on how people react on social media. But the Facebook comments that CanSheEat was freaking out about had “real” names attached to them. They were not anonymous. Truth in blogging, though, is a completely different issue. Tying what you (and us commenters) are writing here is not the same as the trolling, sometimes offensive behavior you see on facebook and twitter. Of course, they would never do a valid story on either of these issues.

  8. Alice15 on February 26, 2013 at 4:27 pm said:

    The times I have associated “real facts” to my name pertaining to the EC – I had a family member approached by a community leader that I had better stop or my professional life would be affected. It is too bad that real facts cannot be associated with the name of a person without repurcussions, but that is the case and I need to keep my career, pay my bills, and my reputation. If I had to associate my real name – I would be done. I hate it, but that’s the way things are run these days. You step on the wrong toes and you pay for it.

  9. anominous on February 26, 2013 at 4:55 pm said:

    Hey KELO-

    If you want people to use real names, why don’t you first stop calling everything “KELOLAND”? How about even for just one fucking day out of the week? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

  10. “Ask the Argus how requiring names on their comments has worked out for them? Very little to no dialogue on most stories now.”

    Actually I consider that a vast improvement over the old system. At least now most of the comments pertain to the article or offer an opinion. Previously it was just a collection of people all tossing the equivalent of electronic fecal matter at one another.

    Granted you can still find people using fake names and accounts. It doesn’t exactly take a genius to figure out how to register a fake Facebook account to post comments they wouldn’t dare associate with their real names.

    I suppose in that respect I’m with Alice. I’m not ashamed of what I write online, but there are times when my opinions may disagree with my family, friends, employer, or those who tend to focus upon political correctness. Thus I opt to limit my comments somewhat on sites that require real names as it just makes things ‘easier’.

  11. Winston on February 26, 2013 at 7:14 pm said:

    So let me get this right. KELO has the audacity to complain about comments they find on blog pages including their own via FB, but they do not remove them.

    Or, were they initially ignorant about the relationship and potentiality they had actually established with FB?

    Do I have this right so far?

    So in identifying a problem from KELO’s perspective they have unknowingly admitted that they are part of the problem.

  12. Winston on February 26, 2013 at 7:16 pm said:

    “they are part of the problem” should be “they are part of their alleged problem.”

  13. Winston – KELO will remove comments that are abusive, racist, overly offensive etc. I’ve seen a few stories where someone posted something that crossed the line and a few hours later the comment is nowhere to be seen.

    I would guess the comments they are quoting were probably captured by the admin prior to deletion as part of the story.

  14. Craig, In other words, KELO’s own example of themselves is a poor example.

    I wish I had print screened the FB blogs from the KELO story they made reference too in yesterdays story, because there were still uncalled for rascist comments from a month ago on that blog site two hours ago when I began to write my most recent blog comment. (definitely a lesson learned) Unfortunately, I cannot prove it any more, but I bit there is trash folder which can. (Darn Delete!)

    But let me propose this to you. Imagine your an author and you write a short story. This short story is about a particular blog site and its owner. This blog site has a history of criticizing local politicians and the local media, and in particular had been rather hard on a particular local media outlet in recent weeks. Then this particular local media outlet decides to do a story about ruddiness and wrongful comments found on websites in general as well as in particular with the local website aforementioned. To further develop this news story, the local media outlet then interviews a local politician who has been criticized by this local blog site, a politician who use to work for the local media outlet which is challenging the aforementioned local blog site.

    What would a literary critic say about your short story. Would they say it was compelling and complex with well developed characters and plot? Or would they say it was too simple, straight forward, with obvious characters, development, and plot, and with a predictability and identity of person, place, and thing which was just too predictable?

    Your Honor, I rest my case……

  15. Jeff Carlson on February 26, 2013 at 10:25 pm said:

    I watched the KELO story and find web sites like this one just plain mean. Vernon Brown is a nice man and doesn’t deserve the kind of treatment you give him. Jesus says that what you do on to the least of his brothers, that you do on to him. Plus, Vernon has done a lot for this city and its people.

  16. “The times I have associated “real facts” to my name pertaining to the EC – I had a family member approached by a community leader that I had better stop or my professional life would be affected.”

    I believe it, because people in power in this town want to control the message and use idol threats to do so. Am I nasty, damn right I am, I laid into the GM at KELO so hard last night, I am sure he wishes he would have been wearing Depends. They act like they are going to take something from you? What? My birthday? We are the bullies? Really? It’s like I said to Angela, people are wise to the city’s corruption and bullying of citizens, and we just are not going to tolerate it anymore.

    “Hey KELO- If you want people to use real names, why don’t you first stop calling everything “KELOLAND”? How about even for just one fucking day out of the week? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?”

    No shit!

    “I watched the KELO story and find web sites like this one just plain mean. Vernon Brown is a nice man and doesn’t deserve the kind of treatment you give him. Jesus says that what you do on to the least of his brothers, that you do on to him. Plus, Vernon has done a lot for this city and its people.”

    1) Jeff, I dont believe Jesus was the son of Gawd.

    2) Vernon is . . . (I will let him fill in this blank since he seemed to concoct other things I supposedly said about him being ‘partime’)

  17. anominous on February 27, 2013 at 12:40 am said:

    Hey KELO,

    Here is a current events topic that you could maybe include in one of your words reading shows sometime:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/27/world/europe/now-gathering-in-rome-a-conclave-of-fallible-cardinals.html?ref=world

    It would be so very rude of you to mention, though.

  18. Jeff – so because someone is a “nice man” they should be free from criticism? I dare say I strongly disagree.

    When someone puts themselves in the public eye, they are opening themselves up to rebuttal, response, and yes occasionally even ridicule.

    Now of course if you wish to remain silent and just accept the press releases and the talking points that is your right. However, others have the right to say what they feel and if the media or webmaster wishes to allow it, and provided it isn’t simply libelous there really isn’t anything anyone can do about it.

    I will agree people tend to get nasty and just plain old mean from time to time, and I surely don’t agree with everything that is said, but I will defend their right to say it.

  19. Craig rules.

  20. Jeff Carlson on February 27, 2013 at 8:30 pm said:

    It’s the same thing if you are an adult or a teen. Making fun of someone’s hair or other snarky remarks are just plain mean.

    http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/27/health/cyberbullying-online-bully-victims/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

  21. “The times I have associated “real facts” to my name pertaining to the EC – I had a family member approached by a community leader that I had better stop or my professional life would be affected.”

    I have used my real name TWICE voicing my opinion. The first time was during the Morrell’s strike back in the late ’80’s. In a LTE to the argus misleader, only standing up for unions, I found myself fielding 2:00 AM threatening phone calls. The most recent, (and I assure you the last time I will use my name) was when I called into vpu, rick knobes so-called, “the talk of Sioux Falls” brain-fart that is nothing more than talking points from the likes of hannity and glenn beck. I gave rick my OPINION of his daily radio lineup of hate mongerers, and lo and behold I was greeted that night with the same hate-calls. Since then I’ve wised up and dropped my land line and stuck strictly to Poly43.

    As an aside, l3wis has going for it what the mainstream media can only wish they had. A pair. That’s right. A voice that is NOT dictated by advertising dollars. argus, kelo, ksfy, kdlt, vpu, YOU COULD learn a lot by asking REAL questions….anything other than the softballs YOU throw out. YOU are the reason why there is such a disconnect and unrest in this city, state, nation.

    Friday…once again, in our bi-monthly game of chicken between congress and President Obama, we face another last minute decision that could have long lasting effects on every American. IF the media were doing it’s job, this whole sequestrian issue would have been closed a long time ago.

  22. The Federalist Papers were published in anonymity. Nixon was brought down with the help of “Deep Throat” (Mark Felt). If anonymity is good enough for our Founding Fathers and the editorial staff of the Washington Post, then it should be good enough for us and the entire Keloland community.

  23. Vernon has no hair to make fun of.

  24. Testor15 on March 1, 2013 at 9:13 am said:

    Poly, I have been interviewed or asked several times over many years by the PayWall Leader. Each time the interviewer asks if they can use my name I have refused. I have been more than willing to give the interviewer background and point them in directions to proceed. I will not give them my name or age for publication. They always say, the ‘editors’ do not allow them to take or use information they cannot put a name on.

    As a person who has been involved in many projects for years, I have found the “paper” does not do background research gathered via interviews. The PayWall Leader will take a quote out of context, attribute to a person because they have a name (with age) and proceed to make a person’s life miserable trying to clean-up the mess the paper created.

    BTW, what the hell does a person’s age have to do with a story? It is incredibly annoying to try reading one of their articles and realize the interviewer has to establish ‘Mary Smith’ is a 73, 43 or 23 yo. Who cares? What does it have to do with an issue at hand?

    Notice I say PayWall Leader story ‘interviewers’? When the PayWall Leader actually starts reporting news, the interviewers will not be called ‘reporters’. Reporters search for stories, interview, research, accept tips, digest information and report actual news. At no time in the last 30 years have I witnessed PayWall Leader interviewers do anything close to what I would call reporting.

    I do remember one of my sessions with a currently employed interviewer who spent more time passing gas than gathering information. If approached again, we will move to the great outdoors.

  25. And I know who you are talking about. If my dog lived with him and you lit a match in the house you would have a nuclear explosion.

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