The Bloggification of Newspapers
It had to happen sooner or later. The self-indulgent post has appeared in the newspaper.
The editor of the Columbus Dispatch now regularly serves up a column that attempts a spiritual work of mercy: enlightening the ignorant, that is, we the readers. Disturbed by the low regard journalists are held by the public he uses the column as an apologia for the profession and ends up sounding like Officer Krumpke's West Side Story delinquents: "we're just misunderstood / deep down inside there is good". (One could say that he's just following Kinky Friedman's father's sage advice: "treat adults like children and children like adults". I find that I've become more childish as I age if only because in the cutthroat world of childhood and adolescence survival trumped self-indulgence.)
The column tends to be a bit whiney and defensive, which is not uncharacteristic of blogs (though not St. Blogger's, who are indefatiguable in their sheer outwardness). One can see his reasoning: "we buy ink by the gallon so why not spill some defending our grand profession?" And so the article begins with the customer's lack of gratitude: "you expect us to be there for you when you note an injustice..." and yet we readers don't give back the love. Apparently it's not enough that it's his job. Can you tell I've been reading the heartless Florence King today?
Anyway, his column inspires me to want to write an apologia for computer programmers. Let's see...
"Surveys show that computer programmers are not loved by the general public despite the constant problem-solving that we provide (ok, problems we introduced, hey let's not get technical). So your computer has a bug and who you gonna call?"
You getteth the idea.
I'm not against whiney, self-indulgent posts in blogs but I'd rather not see them in the newspaper. I like beer, but that doesn't mean there ought to be bars in chapels.
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