Monday, April 04, 2016

Cocoons and page views: A letter to the blog.

A reader writes.

I just saw your post on the top ten articles on the blog last month. I think it says something sad that an ancient burial ground takes a back seat to Adrienne & Company. I think I understand how and why the election turned out the way it did; NA residents really, actually, don't care about what is going on around them. They live in a cocoon and don't want to be bothered. Wow! Is that sad.

Thanks for reading.  It's always pleasant to encounter literate and informed opinion, as opposed to the city-sponsored account that parodies the senior editor at Twitter.

It's true that posts about food and drink occupy perhaps 17 or 18 of the top 20 on the list of all-time, most-read posts. I believe this reveals a keen interest in one aspect of localism, if a bit too narrow for my own interests. I haven't forgotten that only 27% (if that) of the city's registered voters declared a preference in 2015. and it's depressing.

However, looking at March blog statistics another way, blog readership was up nicely overall. Many of the local, topical posts dealing with matters other than food and drink had 20-25% higher numbers. There's a steady trickle of blog "likes" at Fb.

It's very encouraging, and while I will continue to maintain that our community's interests would be better served in the long term by the newspaper honoring its Tribune component equally with its News, and recalling what Fourth Estate really means, the ongoing absence of a city beat reporter in New Albany obviously is contributing to greater blog traffic.

So be it, and in closing, thanks to those readers who throw tips and observations this way. I follow up on as many as I can; it's largely just me, after all. I do what I can, as I'm able.

Thanks again for reading.

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