Halfway to Concord is a blog I regularly read. Although I don’t always agree with the opinions expressed by it authors – I am appreciative of the fact that it covers things in Contra Costa that rarely make it into the Times (aka Main Stream Media or MSM).
That’s why I think it’s appropriate that the latest post is about citizen journalism. I also applaud the site’s new tag line – "Citizen Journalism for Contra Costa County". I think the most important point in that post is that citizen journalists provide as reliable and accurate information as practical. I would add that I think it’s also important for the citizen journalist to be as open as possible in declaring their biases. If I know a particular blog comes at stories from a certain point of view or the author has a strongly held political view I take that into account as I read and enjoy their content. Disclosure improves my ability to assess credibility, understand the author’s sense of humor and fully appreciate their effort in writing the story.
Halfway to Concord has recently undergone a design change with one particular new content piece – Asides – that I find interesting and helpful. The other interesting thing about the design changes is – after the paragraph above – I can’t find any direct reference to its author(s). I know Bill Gram-Reefer (his wife is an occasional contributor) and I know he’s justifiably proud of his blog. Give it a read.
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