Monday, January 19, 2009

Decatur Blur Spawns Wave of the Future

Publisher Emeritus examines blog's momentous legacy.

Wow. What a difference a year makes. This time last year I was coming clean, sort of. Providing the suspicious few with a little confirming evidence as to who was behind the Decatur Blur and why it had seemingly disappeared.

At the same time, I was putting forth a challenge for budding Decatur satirists to rise from the ashes of obscurity and assume my regretfully vacated throne. To take the seeds planted by the Blur and nurture them into a robust public conversation about all things Decatur. To use every conceivable metaphor in the span of single paragraphs.

And that’s what happened. But not, as with most things in life, the way I expected.



You see, no one was interested in perpetuating my legacy. And, looking back, that makes a lot of sense. Why would anyone want to take over someone else’s blog when it’s so easy to start your own?

Unbeknownst to me in my now-comfy Midwestern climes (Jeeez, it’s cold!), new voices were emerging. At the time I presented my 2008 challenge a year ago, the revolution was already underway. As I now know, two frighteningly prolific Decatur blogs – Decatur Metro and inDecatur – had already launched several months prior and were quietly building their audiences. Just shy of two years after the birth of the Blur (and around four months after its last issue-specific post), my dream of hyper-local scrutiny and discussion was being realized in full. By people who apparently possess the time and commitment necessary to do it right.

Today, everyone’s talking about how newspapers are goin’ down and how citizen journalists are going to fill the void. Fat chance. Blogs may serve as a much-needed upgrade to print’s Op-Eds, but I have little confidence that the average community possesses enough bloggers willing to apply the rigors of journalistic restraint (not to mention the costs of legitimate efforts) to local coverage. Truth? Balance? Maybe some, but please. The average blogger is an opinionated jackass just like I was and their postings, quite rightly, reflect their agendas.

Of course, Decatur’s not your average community so it should come as no surprise that it’s found itself with not one but two bloggers who – for the most part – are assuming the role of Town Crier quite valiantly. So much so that they’ve become my go-to resources when trying to keep tabs on my old stomping grounds.

Decatur Metro seems to be where the bulk of discussions takes place but inDecatur’s got the lock on volume. Together, they possess a sort of old-school Atlanta Constitution vs. Atlanta Journal mojo, with Metro assuming the progressive role while inDecatur reminds everyone that the town still has at least one conservative in residence. In tandem, they provide better coverage of Decatur than I ever experienced during my many years living there, even during the AJC’s heyday.

And now, they’ve spawned disciples of their own, with additional Decaturites filling all kinds of subniches – from local history and flavor to parenting issues to school coverage. It’s really quite amazing.

Having already received ample accolades, Decatur’s current slew of blogs are poised to help redefine how local issues will be communicated and discussed in the future and, in that endeavor, I wish them the best of luck.

However, someday, an investigative journalist or archaeologist or sociologist may come calling. “As best I can tell,” they might ask me, “the genus of this new paradigm seems to lead back to you. There was Decatur as it had existed since its inception, then there was the Decatur Blur, and now we have what we have. Are you willing to assume credit for this? For changing the world as we know it?”

And to this outrageously inflated, hopelessly inaccurate query, I’ve already prepared my response: “Sure.”

Farewell.