I know there are sites out there (out here?) in the blogosphere that allow virtually anything to be posted. This is not one of those blogs. This is a blog operated by a journalist, and it will observe some of the basic rules of journalism. After a couple of months of blogging and accepting or rejecting comments from visitors, I believe it’s necessary to explain a couple of those rules.
Rule No. 1 for any responsible journalist is that you avoid libeling folks. To illustrate that with a current issue of some interest to Kentucky, it could be considered libelous to unequivocally equate acceptance of those pardons issued by Gov.Ernie Fletcher with an admission of guilt on the part of the folks who were pardoned. While it may create a negative public perception about them, only a court of law can find them guilty.
Rule No. 2 involves the tastefulness of postings. Now, I will not be as persnickety as a family newspaper might be about George Carlin’s seven infamous words, although you better write something that makes Shakespeare look like a hack before I let you drop the F-bomb. (Screwed works just as well anyway.) If you’re pissed off or think something is total bullshit, tell me about it. But where I will draw the “good taste line” is when you get tasteless in derogatory remarks about someone else.
In applying these rules, I’m not going to edit postings to clean them up. I have no interest in rewriting others’ words. I’ll just click on “Delete.”
Hope this explains to a couple of recent visitors why a post or two never made it onto the blog. I welcome new comments from you. Just remember the rules.
Larry Dale Keeling, a columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader, has spent most of his 35-plus years in journalism reporting on or writing editorials and columns about Kentucky’s politics and political issues. He now brings his experience and expertise on those topics to the KyKurmudgeon blog.
With all due respect, Larry, I think you’re sidestepping the point of what a blog is.
A blog is the electronic version of shooting the breeze at the country store.
While you as the store manager can maintain a certain amount of decorum for conduct, you can’t expect those who come to talk to also have a degree or experience in journalism. There are going to be people coming through the door with all variety of education, skills, & demeanors. Some are going to be politely benign, while others are going to be gut wrenchingly visceral.
If you can’t libel someone while chit chatting, then let’s move to gut the first ammendment.
Maybe the problem for you is the fact that KyKurmedgeon is affiliated with the Lexington Herald Leader, as the logo on the web page identifies. I see a television parallel. The television star wants to produce a cutting edge TV show, but the suits dictate taste from behind the scenes.
That’s perfectly fine for the medium of a newspaper, or even for letters to the editor published in a newspaper. But blogs are a different medium altogther.
The idea behind a blog is - pardon the corruption of my expression - unbridled freedom. A blog is a place to state your mind as you want to state it about what you want to state. A blog is not a place for an editor. Without offering that kind of expression, you may as well delete the blog itself. There are newspapers and other media where expression is formatted.
Eric,
While you may not be able to libel someone in a chit-chat, you certainly can slander them, which is the spoken equivalent of libel. And you can be held civilly liable for doing so. Check it out with a lawyer.
Libel is libel, whether in a newspaper, a magazine or on a blog. I fully expect some bloggers to find that out to their regret in the future. Check that out with a lawyer, too.
ldk
Actually, there is already a US Supreme Court case that suggests anyone who accepts a pardon is guilty of that offense.
The key word there is “suggests.” Acceptance of a pardon may suggest guilt, but it doesn’t prove it.
ldk
I’m a little late posting in response to your comment here, Larry, but here ’tis:
The reason folks aren’t offering many comments to your posts is that this blog seems to require us to list a true name and a true email address. That’s too dangerous. Who gives out their true email address publicly to newspapers these days? Nobody.
I discovered (actually, an anonymous staffer told me) that I don’t have to give a real name, nor even a real email address, when I post a comment here. The only thing that’s really required is that I post a comment that makes you and your editors feel safe that you won’t get sued for libel for putting it on your blog. That’s it.
BUT YOU GUYS DON’T TELL ANY OF YOUR READERS THAT IT’S OK TO USE A PSEUDONYMOUS NAME AND A PSEUDONYMOUS EMAIL ADDRESS!!! HOW ARE WE TO KNOW??
I don’t like it that I have to meet some supposed journalistic standard of decency to post a comment here, but I can live with it. Actually, I’ve found you pretty liberal in those judgments, and you’ve rejected a couple of mine.
But you need to get serious about running a blog, and that means you need to post a section that spells out more clearly to your readers how we can post without later getting inundated with spam and without getting flamed by folks who might disagree with something we might say in a comment.
We can live with your edits. But post a message to your readers that explains that as long as you guys can figure out who we are, by having access to our true email address and true names, that we can use any pseudonym and any pseudonymous email address we want when we ’sign’ our comments.
Either do a blog right or don’t do it. If you’re going to insist we obey journalistic and legalistic rules re our comments, then you folks ought to obey common sense and explain just how it is that we can post here safely.
Fix this with just one more post on “Rules”. Get a little more serious about all this. I’ve talked to lots of people who read this blog daily, but are just too afraid to put their real names and real email addresses in such a public forum, and they don’t realize that the Lex Hrld doesn’t require us to be truthful when we speak to the public in this format.
Wonder if you’ll print this one? If not, how about using my real email address (which I supplied to you separately in an email earlier), and discuss this with me? I want this blog to succeed, it’s a great opportunity to publicly exchange ideas and ‘conversation’, albeit a controlled conversation, with real decision makers. Folks in Frankfort hang on your words (or might hang because of your words). Help us understand how we can safely join that conversation.
Actually, these rules make perfect sense. Nobody wants to be sued for libel and humor is far more effective than foul langage for making political points. There are other blogs available for those that don’t like these rules. I say, keep up the good work Larry and thanks for hosting this blog. Most of all, keep up the good work in your column. It reminds me of the Doonesbury political cartoons–good for a laugh but with an underlying serious message and insight.
Glad someone understands.