April 04, 2006
Appropriate Considering The Season
Today the Blogometer talks to Chad Evans, who writes In The Bullpen.
What is your full name?
Chad Evans
What is your age?
27
Where did you grow up?
Dallas, TX
Where do you live now?
Dallas, TX
What is your occupation?
I operate my own small advertising agency, with more of an emphasis on media buying and promotions and less on the creative angle.
Have you ever worked on a political campaign or for the mainstream media?
No.
When did you start blogging and why?
I started blogging in July 2004 for several reasons, namely because my family and friends grew tired of my blathering on the world of politics and the GWOT. I also wanted to work on my writing skills so that I could perform more public relations duties for clients. Little did I know then that blogging has the adverse effect on journalistic writing that I previously believed.
What has been your favorite post, or favorite story to write about, in that time?
I don't have a favorite post or a favorite story. I personally find it fascinating that so little mainstream coverage has occurred on the GWOT and the threat of radical Islam, which is why after the election of 2004 I shifted my blog to cover radical Islam more than the same old political game that has infested this nation for three centuries. Yes, the bigger events are covered, but they are often without historical background or any real insight into, for instance, why Al Qaida has a fetish for the lion. I am hardly an expert, but I like to consider myself more knowledgeable on this subject than most beat writers. I did though enjoy putting together a timeline of messages released by Osama Bin Laden and picking out what I thought was the most pertinent information from those messages.
Describe your typical blogging schedule. And what is your average output?
Typical? That sounds like a nice word and a routine I should aspire towards. I blog daily, though weekends are sparsely blogged. I am not a morning person, but I try to get up a post or two in the early hours of the day before work kicks in. Since blogging by no means is my job, I don't blog just for the sake of getting something down, or up as we state in the Internet age. I only blog when there is a story or a news item I feel is important, or when inspiration strikes me.
What is your average output?
My average output has decreased over the past few months, mainly because of the monotony of items worth covering. I used to write upwards of ten posts per day, but now my output is down to around four to five posts per day. Because I don't believe in flogging our readers with useless information because, frankly, I don't have to have a certain amount of column inches to correctly place the advertisements sold, I only blog what I believe is of interest to those who want information on the GWOT. That is, with a scant post related to other events.
Who is your favorite political blogger?
We're playing hardball I see. To narrow down all of the blogs and bloggers I enjoy reading down to just one is very difficult to do, but Ed Morrisey of Captain's Quarters is at the forefront of my mind related to this question. One great thing about Morrisey's writing is that he is often concise and to the point.
Favorite non-political blogger?
Because I do not consider blogging the GWOT and radical Islam to be political despite what the politicos in Washington feel, I thoroughly enjoy reading and the friendly banter with Marc Schulman of American Future, Richard of Hyscience and Dr. Rusty Shackleford of The Jawa Report. All three of those authors and blogs are top-notch and offer different perspectives on many of the same core issues.
Who is your favorite mainstream media columnist?
Without question Mark Steyn. I don't always agree with Steyn, but I have never read an article by Steyn and not been entertained. It is his ability to incite, excite and make readers laugh that all opinion journalists should aspire to emulate. He also doesn't play the same politically correct cards most journalists do, which is one major reason why his columns are so entertaining. I also enjoy Rowan Scarborough and Bill Gertz.
What is your favorite television news program, either network or cable?
I suppose we're not talking sports otherwise it would be 'Around the Horn,' but I prefer not to watch television news programs because it is the same news over and over again with the same injected bias. My journalism professors would fail me with that answer, but television news has become an extension of print that covers the same topics on the front page for weeks, if not months, and places higher emphasis on any story involving death and destruction rather than why this particular incident occurred. The explanation stories, if printed or discussed at all, are relegated to the back pages or in television news' concept of a back page, the quick blurb.
What MSM-produced websites (i.e. newspapers, magazines) do you visit on a daily basis?
I read well over 50 worldwide newspapers/sites per day in order to get different perspectives on current events. My RSS reader makes this quest much easier. I always make a point to read Adnkronos International first thing in the morning and later in the afternoon. Depending on what topic I wish to discuss with my readers in a particular post, certain media outlets provide critical connections the U.S. media does not. Then again, the U.S. media largely is stuck in the same news cycle. For instance, The Daily Times gives insight into Pakistan and the Observer Research Foundation provides a valuable Indian perspective on current events. Even newspapers which are hostile towards my way of thinking (i.e. the Iranian state-run Islamic Republic News Agency) are in my list of daily reads because I feel to form an opinion that is valuable to our readers, I must at least consider what the opposition has to say.
What non-MSM websites (i.e. blogs) do you visit on a daily basis?
I live with my RSS reader and I have around 200 blogs that I read this way. Aside from the blogs listed above, I always make a point to visit Euphoric Reality, bRight & Early, Winds of Change, Newsbusters and of course the sites run by my co-bloggers, Interested Participant and Right Truth.
How often, or do you ever, read a newspaper in its dead-tree (i.e. print) form?
I read The Dallas Morning News daily and I have for as long as I can remember. Well, I read the sports section of my local rag at least. Once newspapers figure out to charge for Internet users, this likely will change. Let us hope they never do.
How do you see the new media and old media affecting and influencing each other in the next five years?
I am actually a proponent to what is commonly called the "old media." Most blogs are extensions of the old media. In fact, that's where my site's name In the Bullpen comes from. Rather than being a typo or wrong name from some illiterate Texas as some emails have insisted, the name is derives from my affinity for baseball with what I perceive is the role of my blog; to come into the game in a relief role and provide valuable backup and either close out the story or continue to provide the long-relief needed to storied relegated to the back pages.
Through my venture into the "new media," one thing has become abundantly clear. Most bloggers, myself included though from a different perspective, are hostile towards the MSM due to perceived bias or spin, yet we use the MSM to provide content for our blogs. The MSM on the other hand, either has a disdain for bloggers or they simply don't care what some 27 year-old living in Dallas has to say. Contrary to popular belief, if the MSM wanted to put bloggers out of business, they could easily do so. Why don't they? They don't see us as serious competition, and I don't see this changing as long as the old media is run by the same old executives that believe the Internet is a phase. By the time they figure out diverse opinions are what consumers of media crave for, it may be too late.
Some of the more hostile journalists to blogs are either from the old guard or those who have been attacked by bloggers, and frankly, they have a reason to be upset that some ordinary American whose job isn't to cover the White House Beat is questioning them. The times are changing in this regard, and these journalists are hearing the unfiltered complaints to their job performance. The concept of blogs is really nothing new, but what is new is that these letters to the editor have bypassed the middle man and reached the masses.
Posted by Reid Wilson
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