First the news: Check out Kaus' report on his conversation with the Bee editor.
Now some final points before I get on a plane:
I do not believe Weintraub's quality will diminish. One iota.
I don't think the Bee had any need of editting him.
If I had my druthers, Weintraub would strike out on his own and have the Weintraub files where he has the same freedom as someone like Kaus.
All that said, if the Bee editor made the change for no other reason than he had a bad dream, I'd be as blase about it as I am now.
Here's why:
If you have a profession, it puts a crimp on your blogging. That's a fact. There are things I do not discuss because the mere discussion will upset a client or a judge or even an opposing counsel. Clearly, I have confidentiality duties as an attorney but I go beyond those rules and do not tread on areas that aren't confidential but would bother people that I deal with.
There are other things I discuss that I run by people first.
There are even things I want here that I can't get clearance for. There's one area that I would love to address that I have been discussing with someone for weeks.
In short, I think it's a myth that free reign is a necessity for good blogging.
Now have at it. I expect this discussion will evolve quite a bit over the next few days.
Posted by Justene Adamec at September 23, 2003 08:11 AM | TrackBackI agree about the perils of working and blogging. What I found offensive was the change in policy and the Bee's failure to discluse it.
Posted by: boifromtroy at September 23, 2003 08:29 AM (Permalink)As much as I love Weintraub's work, I think he'd be wise to keep his "day job" at the Bee. This high interest in state politics will almost definitely subside once the recall is over with.
Posted by: right-wing vegetarian at September 23, 2003 09:40 AM (Permalink)I agree with RWW. But if the Bee is smart, they will reverse their silly decision and let him blog as he did before. If they're not, maybe some other paper will hire him away and offer him an unfettered blog as part of the deal?
Posted by: Xrlq at September 23, 2003 02:34 PM (Permalink)You have a point. I have been very cautious about blogging on issues related to work. This stuff can always come back to haunt you.
Posted by: Patterico at September 23, 2003 06:31 PM (Permalink)Another point: not only do I have to worry about content, I have to worry about timing. I don't blog from work. I don't want to give them a reason to get on my case. As a result, I had to wait nine freakin' hours to discuss the recall decision today. It felt like weeks. Talk about anticlimactic.
But as Justene points out, this is the sort of thing most of us have to deal with. So we do.
Posted by: Patterico at September 23, 2003 06:40 PM (Permalink)I'll admit, I am reassured by the fact that Dan hasn't backed off (or been made to back off) the Latino Caucus by even a millimeter.
But the Bee's policy change still sticks in my craw.
Posted by: McGehee at September 24, 2003 06:22 AM (Permalink)