Because of You We Hit a Milestone Today.....Thank You

   Sometime in the next day or the number of page views for Mayor Graham's View will pass two million, hardly the reach of major metropolitan daily but a large amount of unfettered exposure for one person to have without owning any means of dissemination like a printing press or a broadcast transmitter.
    The blog is a hobby of sorts given my background in news and love of writing. It's an extension of my political persona and when introduced a source of consternation and resentment for some who were used to being the funnel all information passed through, or for those in politics not used to a collegue having direct reach to the public.

Watching Morning TV while Updating Blog

 

     Lots of blogs exist but getting one read extensively takes a lot of work. The trailblazers in local political blogs were Legislator Scott Gray with Political IV and Ted Ford's entertaining tomes a few years back.
     Political IV was run anonymously and featured a lot of insider analysis of politics and government and was driven from the scene for being two competitive for media not used to that.
     MGV got a lot of blowback. In fact a whole campaign in 2011 was based on "the blog" and the contention state secrets were being leaked, but it was more about the old guard being PO'd they were being bypassed.  There are actually some back channel news items I wish I had discussed here more but when dealing with a range of issues and people, there's a need for them to feel comfortable dealing with me, so its a constant judgment on what to write about and what to skip.
      Sometimes one chooses another venue to discuss an issue depending on the subject and the best way to communicate.
     This week one city councilman choose a newspaper OP/ED as the way to spread his message. That's fine and while favoring one media has its perils as does getting ink other pols didn't get causes resentment in some , the furthering of the marketplace of ideas and doing so aggressively is good for local government.
     You also have to deal with the different local media who are wary of someone with a modicum of clout himself.
      Most of that resentment has faded and a new generation of media types with more new-media saavy understand blogs and social media are part of the scene now.
      Old media all use Twitter and blogs, and their on-line presence will determine their futures.
      So as we pass two million, I thank you for taking time to read as the media and information world changes. But don't give up your traditional sources, as at some point I will lose interest in all of this or worse....But not yet.