on 3/12/02 10:40 PM, Aaron Osterby at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > What's different is that some Minneapolis residents are bypassing the > traditional information sources, like the Star Tribune, and working together > to keep informed and active on issues of interest to them in their > community. We pick the issues we're interested in and we provide enough > context and support for action to result from discussion. The technology > bypasses the people who are used to framing public discourse. >
It's a bit presumptuous to say the list has trumped the Strib as an information source, I'd say, but Aaron has a point. The daily newspaper IS losing influence in the culture, to some extent, as information options proliferate. Part of the reason, I think, has to do with the way in which Strib editors tend to frame issues (a tad arrogantly, IMHO) and part of the reason has to do with the fact that their geographical reach is so broad and their audience so large that everything tends to get watered down. It's easy for the list or a neighborhood paper or my little thing, The Observer, to stay sharp and focused and relevant because we're speaking to such a small audience. The Strib, like most daily newspapers, doesn't have that luxury. (The answer, of course, is for the Strib to publish a Minneapolis edition, but that's not going to happen because of cost factors and market conditions--ie. all the circulation growth is in the 'burbs.) So, yeah, Grow's probably a little envious of the influence the list has on certain subjects. I'm sure it will challenge him to make his column that much more relevant and influential. If that's the case, everybody wins. Craig Cox Hiawatha _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
