As journalism makes a transformation to the digital age the dreaded, anonymous mean-spirited Internet comment is now becoming a curse for journalists who were part of a corporate enterprise that controlled public opinion through their stranglehold on media channels.
Now the Internet has given rise to angry, pajama-clad reactionaries who are seemingly on equal footing with reporters who have slaved away on a story.
To wit, a recent consumer satisfaction opus backfired on Pitch reporter Nadia Pflaum and her newsy instincts seemed all wrong in the populist/plebeian setting of a comment forum. I don’t care about the details of the story because they’re really not that interesting. What’s important is that the tale started with Nadia investigating the moaning and groaning of an unsatisfied consumer and ended with a great deal of anger aimed her way.
Unfortunately, it seems that it might have been her dead tree investigative instincts that led her astray.
Like any good reporter, she worked to tell both sides of her giant nothing of a story. However, these consumer angst tales were perfected by old school Kansas City TV legend Stan Cramer and he didn’t really care about the petty details which was a precursor to the new school of digital journalism. The highlight of the old “Call For Action” stories was always Cramer running after some unsuspecting and usually befuddled business owner and putting him on the spot. Most of the time the small time biz person would make things right but the lame back and forth between frustrated consumer and struggling merchant was NEVER the focus of the tale. TV viewers kept Cramer on the air because he portrayed himself as a champion of the “little guy” and a crusader against cases that probably weren’t even significant enough to make it to small claims court.
The antics of Cramer were the real story that so many people admired.
Meanwhile, “journalism” never really helped anybody. For all of her fairness and objectivity Nadia really “took it on the chin” from people not as nice as her beefy, fashionista boyfriend Sike.
Like it or not, The Internet doesn’t seem to care about facts or both sides of the story or even responsible reporting. The angry digital mob is what makes waves. In light of this fact, once again Nadia rages. Let’s look at her pouting where she talks trash about the subjects of her story:
Wow.
bokie
I just wonder when she’s gonna kill you man. Or maybe you two should just get a room.
Precious
Calling a woman chickenhead over and over (and I believe you started it, you have certainly propagated it) is not funny, cool, or hip. If you called me a cocksucker I would make it my mission in life to hunt you down and remove your little brown nuts.
CJJanovy
Tony this is why we didn’t hire you six years ago. You and Hearne make a fine pair.
goshy
Funny.
Roy Langford
You got a lot of nerve making claims like this on a site that censors unfavorable comments, especially on stories like hearne posted last month about “why does everyone get mad at ME when Tony drags someone’s name and reputation through the mud?”
Because, Hearne, you’re the one giving him the platform — the ONLY one giving him a platform aside from a short-lived affiliation with Dos Mundos several years ago.
Whether or not you like her style (or boyfriend, wtf does that have to do with any of this?) Nadia has done a lot of great reporting work, and when you’re actually on a quest for FACTS (not some b.s. e-mailed in by anonymous trolls), collecting them and presenting them in a clear, fair, balanced manner isn’t easy. You wouldn’t have the first idea because you’ve never done it.
All you do is collect and report gossip to try and make public and semi-public people look bad. Or what else is the point of this post?
Seriously, Tony, what good have you ever done for this city? What are your reporting merits? Maybe you think “Tim Finn how do Hearne’s balls taste” or calling women fat or chickenheads is some kind of actual validation. Or that making fun of people have been raped makes you some kind of tough dude.
Soft porn and allegations of racism will get you a lot of clicks and anonymous comments, but at the end of the day you’re just a zero-accountability hack blogging for the douchiest site this side of the Mississippi.
I hope you find some redemption and peace at some point in your life, because one day it will catch up to you, brother.
mark smith
Ive always been of the opinion that negative comments mean you nailed the story. I get the whole blog war thing, it draws traffic. That said, the Chicken Head comments and references about her boyfriend are cheap shots. If I were Tony, I’d start wearing a catchers mask, I hear some of those Pitch writers have a pretty good throwing arm, just ask Hearne.