We had high hopes for the new Knoxville Business Journal being published by the Knoxville News Sentinel. A city the size of Knoxville should have a business journal. Unfortunately, this is probably not the business journal you are looking for.

Read more after the jump...

Overall there are a few good articles and useful features such as some statistical reports and public records listings, but the September issue is overflowing with chamber of commerce (literally) spin and hype, with little in the way of objective or useful reporting.

The first disappointment was a series of articles on local business people and their relationship with local politics and politicians, leading off, of course, with a profile of Big Jim Haslam. We suppose it's always been obvious that there is a Good Old Boy network in Knoxville, but it's surprising to see it so blatantly laid out and championed by the only major daily newspaper. This stuff goes on behind the scenes in most cities, but for some reason Knoxville seems quite proud of it. Maybe that was the point of the series? (Which, on a positive note, was at least expertly written by KNS political reporter Georgiana Vines and does feature some "good guys".)

The second disappointment was the 12 page insert (paid, we assume, like an "advertorial"?) called "Commerce" by the Knoxville Chamber (of commerce). The feature topic is about air quality issues in the region, which of course turns into cheerleading propaganda for TVA (we would fact check it for you, but it has become tiresome and nobody cares anyway). There's also an article by Mayor Mike Ragsdale about his "Great Schools" program. But clearly none of this will create any future conflicts of interest for the KNS in their reporting on these topics, right?

We have always been fascinated by the cozy relationship between local government, business, and media. We suppose the KNS should be commended for doing away with any pretense and putting it out there for everyone to see. And maybe the region is on the leading edge of something for a change. Knoxville is fast becoming the poster town for the Corporatist America vision of the future. Which is somewhat ironic given that the region's economy is almost totally dependent on Big Government spending.