Calblog

CA Political Blog Hero - Dan Weintraub

Online Journalism Review has a notable piece by the Sac Bee's Dan Weintraub on Dan Weintraub and how his blog became vital to Californians getting anything resembling good political reporting during the recall campaign.

Weintraub would be worthwhile reading in any environment, but he definitely filled a void left by the L.A. Times.

Can you believe that the Times still does not have a bureau set up in Sacramento? No wonder why Southern Californians are so out of touch with state politics. (This despite the fact that, even in these extraordinary times, what goes on in California's capitol affects more of us directly than what goes on in Washington D.C.)

Could you imagine a large viable newspaper in Southern California that gave daily reports on the spending plans and proposed bills that passed Senate committees before they are finally voted on - instead of reporting new controversial state laws only after their final passage when its too late for otherwise informed citizens to actually have an input on them?

I could certainly imagine that - but it has amazingly never happened in my 13 years here in Southern California.