Montana Jones

Montana n: A state of the northwest United States bordering on Canada. Admitted as the 41st state in 1889. The fourth largest state in the union, it includes vast prairies and numerous majestic mountain ranges.
Syn: Treasure State, Big Sky Country, Last Best Place.

Jones n: slang. An addiction or very deep craving.

Sunday, April 10, 2005

Hungry Horse News as blog

The blogosphere has been abuzz for a while now about how cool we bloggers are that we have become a journalistic force to contend with. The big media moguls and their ink smeared on paper pontifications are in danger from the pixilated horde. Now this may be true, but what is being somewhat overlooked is the reverse trend. Ink on paper media becoming more like blogs.

Consider if you will Montana's own Hungry Horse News. I have crossed paths with Chris Peterson, the managing editor, in the past. He is a nice guy, hard working, dedicated to his paper. But have you seen some of the stuff he editorializes about? Check this recent one out: Life on the edge.

What this amounts to is a story about how he went to a movie and accidentally bonked a poor woman on the head with a cup. There is a little moralizing and a tie in with the theme of the movie he saw, but in the end this ink smeared on paper goodness is about as deep as a typical blog post from someone having a slow week. This isn't the first time he has put this sort of thing in the HHN either. I have frequently heard Peterson go on about a mundane detail of life. Isn't that what blogs are for?

This could be good or bad, depending on how you look at it. On the one hand Peterson could be producing the absolute coolest most elaborate weblog in the world complete with ink on paper distribution and a sports section. On the other hand we could be witnessing the long slow decline of a once highly regarded Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper. Would Mel Ruder have editorialized about a faux pas while seeing a movie? Would Mel Ruder have kept a blog?