For the record, I am trying not to write about my work on my blog. Even though I doubt it would happen, I do not want a confrontation about my blog because of work-related posts. This post is one (and perhaps the only) time I will be breaking my unofficial "no-work-content" rule.
I overheard someone at work say today that the most read Sunday story this past weekend was about a local girl working as an intern for Fox New's website. Someone else responded that the story had been linked on a blog somewhere, and that link probably explained the higher-than-normal number of readers.
Naturally, my curiosity was piqued. (If you are wondering why, click the earlier link.) Once I arrived back at my apartment, I decided to find the blog that linked the story. Turning to Google, I searched for her name plus the word "intern," hoping to weed out links from the news channel's website that had her byline. Imagine my surprise to find not one but many links to the story within the first five pages of the search.
The first link came from Instaputz, a blog I had not heard before. The next link came from greenslade, a blogger for the Guardian, a rather large UK newspaper. It was followed soon after by a link from Romenesko, a news feed column at Poynter Online. The story somehow even found itself in the news feed of the Huffington Post.
The attention this little community story received was a bit shocking at first. Even though it did not (to my knowledge) get any commentary from big name bloggers, it did make a few rounds on the web. I must confess it's a bit shocking to stumble across words I've written on websites other than my own or the paper's site.
When I really think about it, though, it isn't all that surprising that this story got a bit of attention. It mentions Fox News, and it mentions an employee believing in God. For those who are truly against the FNC, that story is a gem. For the record, I dislike the channel quite a bit. I believe it is false advertising for it to use the slogan "fair and balanced," and I think it is very clearly tilted to the conservative side of the American political spectrum. That said, this girl is an intern. She doesn't really deserve the mocking she has received. She believes in God. She is, apparently, conservative. She and her family enjoy the FNC. She has not done anything wrong.
I wish I could say it is a new low to see bloggers mocking an innocent intern because she just happens both to believe in God and to work for FNC's website. Unfortunately, I know the blogosphere has sunk lower and probably will again.
Disclaimer (just in case): The views expressed in this post and every other post at the website you are visiting belong solely to the author of this and every other post and represent in no way the views or opinions of my employer.
Posted by Randy at June 20, 2007 12:23 AM | TrackBack