Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Can someone hand me a wet towel?

I just made the mistake of watching tonight's Fox 8 newscast....I'm still ralphing over the toilet....I need someone to come pull my head out before I drown.

Sandy Rosenthal is now a crusader against anonymity?  Really, Sandy?  That's your new agenda for levees.org?  Somehow the safety of our levees has something to do with Sal Perricone?  Should you change the website to levees.noanonymous.org?  You're now suggesting that the ability to comment anonymously is counterproductive to good government?  Hope that works out for you.

Ronnie LaMarque is now a crime fighting hero/investigative reporter for busting a guy stealing rims in his own car lot?



Watch out, Lee....Ronnie may be bucking for your job, bro!  And he can sing and dance!

Thank Buddha we've got "Ronnie on the spot" busting those goddamn rim nabbers.  And be thankful we have Fox 8 to let us know what a true hero Ronnie is!  And to think....Fox 8 said it took too much  time, money, and resources to shoot a sixty-second Chris Rose segment of him ranting on his back porch.

I guess sending a camera crew down to LaMarque in order to televise a guy stealing rims is worth the cost of production not to mention the 30 second block of "news" airtime.  I know I'm gonna sleep better tonight....thanks Fox 8!

Jesus homer christ....how ridiculous can it get?

16 comments:

jeffrey said...

I'll never understand the impulse to prevent "powerful people posting anonymously on the internet." Seems to me we always learn so much when they do.

Jason Brad Berry said...


Anonymity will not be tolerated...unless it's convenient.

Charlotte said...

You need a "like" button.

Jason Brad Berry said...

I need a " drink" button.

When you start glorifying your top advertisers in news blocks, trying to pass it off as actual news...it may be time for a gut check.

Somehow I doubt anyone there cares. As long as Big Daddy Bentsen keeps stroking the checks they'll gladly shuck and jive for the camera.

Call it what it really is said...

When you start pimping your top advertisers in news blocks, trying to pass it off as actual news...it may be time for a gut check.

Jason Brad Berry said...

Correction noted.

Anonymous said...

"We the people.." individually anonymous, collectively preeminent!

Sandy Rosenthal said...

I am pretty sure I didn't attack anonymous commenters.

This is what I consider reprehensible. When a person in a position of public trust disguises his/her identity, pretends to be impartial and then uses community features of a medium to attack a person or group.

I was discussing a very particular type of behavior by a particular type of person.

Sandy Rosenthal said...

The reason I believe the behavior described above is reprehensible is because it can frighten and intimidate people who might have spoken out on behalf of the public good.

A vicious comment may be anonymous, but someone somewhere is sitting at a computer typing it. That can stop people who might have taken a stand on an important issue.

Jason Brad Berry said...

Well tough. I get vicious anonymous comments on here and on NOLA.com all the time. Put your big girl pants on and deal with it.

You're saying you weren't attacking the ability to comment anonymously but nowhere in that piece did I see you defend the right to comment anonymously. Sandy, the reason Greg Meffert, Mark St. Pierre, Ray Nagin, Aaron Bennett, Frank Fradella, Anthony Jones, have all been indicted is largely due to anonymous commenters providing information on this blog, Nola.com, and others.

Vicious attacks, sock-puppeting and astroturffing is all part of the mining process but you have to deal with it in order to find the diamonds.

Sandy Rosenthal said...

First of all, I did not produce Lee Zurik's story, he did. I cannot tell Lee what to include and what not include in his story.

Btw, I didn't know about your blog post until I saw it last night. I would have been happy to join the discussion on your post. And I would have stated I am pro anonymous commenting.

Second, I obviously don't mind vicious comments. I get them all the time, and keep going. I was addressing comments directed at me. I was addressing the issue of such comments intimidating and thwarting citizens at large who might have taken a stand on an important issue.

In closing, I am FOR anonymous commenting and I am AGAINST its abuse. I am against this specific sort of abuse – when a person in a position of public trust disguises his identity, pretends to be impartial and uses community features of a medium to attack and discredit a person or group.

To say that I am against anonymous commenting is a gross oversimplification.



Sandy Rosenthal said...

Also, providing valid documented and reasonably thought out information is very different from vicious personal attacks that have nothing to do with the discussion at hand.

Sandy Rosenthal said...

Argghhh, I so carefully proofread my first comment and still missed an error.

In the Zurik piece, I was NOT addressing vicious comments directed at me. They obviously don't thwart me.

Jason Brad Berry said...

Regardless of your influence on the outcome of the story, you participated and I'm assuming Lee had to find out Perricone's emails to you from you. I question the impetus for the story from the start. Why you felt the need to air this out on Fox 8 is a mystery to me.

I'm not sure what your point is regarding "valid documented and reasonably thought out information" in regards to Sal Perricone sending you zinger emails but I'd be curious to her you expound on that.

If your goal was to portray yourself as a victim with this story, you succeeded. If Fox8 and Lee's goal with his story was to condemn anonymous online commenting...they succeeded.

The whole thing left me unsettled...the whole thing came across as if anonymity should be a criminal offense in respect to the 1st amendment online commenting and that you're being maliciously victimized by it. My response to that is that if your skin isn't thick enough to deal with verbal attacks you shouldn't be thrusting yourself into the public arena, especially on such an emotionally charged issue as the levees and COE.

I respect everything you've done for our community but this story, frankly, stunk. If your intention wasn't to condemn anonymity and online commenting I think you should be pretty upset with Zurik and Fox 8.

Sandy Rosenthal said...

I do not condemn anonymous online commenting. I condemn its abuse.

In fact, I adore a good rollicking online discussion. That's why I regret not knowing about this discussion until after it was over.



Sandy Rosenthal said...

Oh, and thank you for the kind words about my community participation.