Why David Simon Is Wrong About Blogs and Local Reporting - The Opinionator Blog - NYTimes.com

Eric Etheridge (the very first writer of the Harper’s Index, by the way, which is one of my jobs now) notes David Simon’s testimony before Congress and then excerpt a riposte from Ryan Avent on Gawker. Avent brings up some good examples of local bloggers who are doing gutsy reporting that’s original and investigative.

My worry on this subject — the general what-happens-after-the-local-newspapers-die subject — is not that such bloggers won’t exist, but rather (a) their communities won’t pay much attention to their reporting, since (unlike the local reporting in newspapers today) it won’t be yoked to the sports pages and national reporting and real-estate and comics sections that sell the copies; and (b) worse, that local governments will be able to stonewall uncredentialed bloggers in the way that don’t quite feel like they can do to the big local paper.  But I’d like to hope Avent is right, and those worries can be overcome. Either way, we’re likely to find out the answer soon.