Grapevines Without Roots

As reported by Dan DeWitt, columnist of Hernando Times, a series of grapevine gossip caused him embarrassment when calling Mary Ann DeWitt to offer condolences for the passing away of her husband Bob DeWitt, soon to leave his volunteer post on the Planning and Zoning Board. Oh, what a relief it must have been to recant misbegotten information! Unfortunately, the grapevine couldn’t be traced from the immediate source of the information, Anna Lisa Covell, who in turn had heard it from Anthony Palmieri.

Hold it right there! All three are on the P&Z department, right? And all three are retiring, again as informed from the reporting of Dan DeWitt, right? And there was some “supposed” misunderstanding about the living dead man amongst Palmieri and Covell, right?

Sounds like a practical joke to me! I don’t think it’s fair to Bob DeWitt to be the brunt of the “mishap” but, fortunately, Bob is an easy-going guy and shrugged it off with humor.
But, what might we expect next? Is there a tit-for-tat in the making from Bob? This may prove to be insightful on my part but, in the meantime, who will be the “source” of the rumor? In retaliation of the band of two, I might suggest that Mary Ann DeWitt join forces with Bob and send a tasty grape about the other two through the vine, but place the roots of the news too far buried to verify the true source.

As touched on Dan DeWitt in his column titled “News of his demise is spun by the Web”, seeking the source of information isn’t easily available from a reputable, recognized source. The perfect example in today’s technology is the Web, just as Dan wrote.

When looking for information on a given topic of interest, I quickly learned how very questionable many sites are. The first telltale signal is a perceived slant of a political view as put forth by the writer, especially when basic prior information conflicts with another source. I entrust my belief in the honesty of journalism to prominent newspapers and magazines. If I want different views on a subject, all I have to do is switch from one cable news station to another.

Blogs, each of mine included, should be viewed as suspect of accuracy. I think I do an honest job of providing a little bit of known knowledge on a subject, enhance it with information from Web searches to a number of official news services and organizations then make my own comments, which I attempt to be creative and/or humorous, if not at least recognized as well-written.

I don’t document where I retrieve information, other than jotting down the site and the information I was looking for and tossed in the trash once the blog entry has been published. If in doubt, I go to two, three or maybe be more sites when there are too many discrepancies with facts and figures. Forbes. Reuters. Bloomberg. Local, state, federal and international governments. These are just a few of my “Favorite Links”, plus sites of various corporations, universities and research groups.

Let me just leave it this way: no more Dan DeWitts writing about any Bob DeWitts from sources who turn out to be half-wits. Just the facts... please, just the facts.

Where's My Newspapers?

It seems that on a daily basis I go through a series of whiplashes as one business after another either seeks the temporary shelter of Chapter 11 or, worst of all, going out of business entirely. Whiz – there goes another one, not necessarily a name I’ve ever heard but turns out to be another significant cog in the wheel of misfortune of the economic crisis.

Whiz, whiz, whiz – one failure along side a dozen others and I’ve got a very severe crick in my neck. If I should close my eyes to escape the worsening affects of a demoralized business atmosphere, the winds of change won’t shelter my senses from the inevitable bad news.

Over the past few years, newspaper readership has steadily declined, thanks to the ever-flowing streams of data on the Internet. As circulation decreases so do advertising dollars and subscription increases would result in further deterioration of incoming revenues, the announcement that The Tribune Co (L A Times and Chicago Tribune) are biting the bitter bullet of its own filing of bankruptcy. At one time each of these newspapers greeting me every morning at the front door – an entry door to the ways and means of the world.

I’m nearly distraught at the thought that my current subscriptions are in jeopardy. The St. Pete Times and it’s driveway sidekick The New York Times - I dread the thought of loosing touch of local, national and worldly news at my fingertips.

What next? The demise of other publications? The Economist, Time, Discover, Business Week, etc., may one day no longer fill my mailbox with their individual in-depth reporting.

I say with determination that I will never rely on the Inet to gather news as I see fit to read. It’s all time-consuming and cumbersome in the scope of sifting through pop-ups and countless clicking to find items of interest. Generally speaking, an item of importance can be supplemented with information on the Inet but I don’t foresee a day when I will accept this as a primary source of news; I can’t take it with me or save articles for leisurely reading at a later time. Cable news is too extreme with lop-sided viewpoints.

What would I do without the Hernando Times? Days without Dan DeWitt? The loss of being informed on community affairs? I get distraught at the very thought.

I don’t anticipate an immediate loss of newsprint smudges around the house but one day I may have no choice but to accept the loss of the free press as I define it.