Why We Need Blogs
Since, I am not trained as a journalist and am not a natural writer, I wonder a lot about why I feel I need to be blogging. For, the most part– it’s to say things, that I feel need to be said and notice stuff that might be overlooked. The recent bad behavior of the Pittsburgh Pirates is sad but common case in point. Thanks to a large extent to huge government subsidies, the team manages to get by year after year with a pretty lousy product–as in 15 losing season’s worth. Management, knowing suckers when it sees them, seems satisfied to milk the team as a cash cow rather than investing in it– spending $20 million less on payroll than small market, Milwaukee Brewers.
A few long suffering fans have planned a meager protest at today’s game that has been met with a pretty draconian response on the part of the Pirates. “They have asked their television announcing crew not to discuss the walkout with the media. They have removed all comments about the walkout from their message board at pirates.com. They have the support of their television rights holder, FSN Pittsburgh, which does not plan to show the protest as part of its game coverage.”
Pittsblog has repeated a call for all bloggers, and supporters of alternative media to make sure that this protest is not squashed. “Aux armes, cell phone, PDA, and mini-cam owners! Shoot photos and videos of the walkout yourselves, and upload the results to YouTube and Flikr. (Don’t shoot images of the game being played, though.) Fans for Change can aggregate the links at a site of their own. The protest will automatically get a permanent archive — and Pittsburghers around the world (diaspora check, here) can see what’s happening locally. ”
It’s not Tiananmen Square, but a way for the average fan, who has sold out for the great views and dozens of bobbleheads to gain back some dignity.
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