Joe Powell credits bloggers, environmental activists, and affected residents with pushing this story onto the front page and into the national media spotlight.
Michael Silence says not so fast. While acknowledging a joint effort between mainstream media and bloggers, he says the KNS is "driving the bus."
I'm not so sure about that. The KNS is certainly on the bus doing some outstanding reporting, and it's apparent that they are the only area news operation with the resources and experienced reporters to do the in-depth coverage that's needed.
But my impression is that they were a little slow out of the gate and a little hesitant to call TVA out on the facts.
I first heard about the event at RoaneViews and their link to the initial Roane County News report.
I followed up with a post, updated it with a roundup of the initial local media reports which at the time were still repeating TVA's position that the fly ash contained "no hazardous materials."
I included links to reports showing how that was a total fabrication and how the handling of coal combustion byproducts is largely unregulated. This information made its way into the KNS a day or two later, by way of their business reporter of all people.
Next I questioned the advice to boil water being repeated by local media, and the KNS repeated this advice the next day before finally having to report days later that the EPA had found elevated levels of toxins (which boiling only makes worse) that could affect ground water and wells, advising people not to use spring or well water at all until more testing is done.
Later I ran across the inspection report, which clearly stated there were problems with the fly ash retaining pond dikes and that these problems were known to TVA. A couple of days later, the KNS did an in-depth story on the inspection report findings, with a good explanation of what it all meant.
And those are just my observations. Plenty of other bloggers were all over the story, including Joe Powell, Mike at Enclave, Southern Beale, and of course RoaneViews at ground zero.
Bloggers were even ahead of the New York Times. Christian Grantham at Nashville is Talking posted a link to an EPA inventory of all the toxins at the Kingston Steam Plant a day before the New York Times reported on it and two days before the KNS. (It should be noted that Christian is a pro blogger for WKRN in Nashville.)
Anyway, the point is not to criticize KNS or other local media. They are doing groundbreaking work and as I already mentioned they have the resources and contacts and credibility to do it right. Nor is the point to seek credit for bloggers for the work they have done and continue to do on the story.
The blogger advantage, though, appears to be strong google-fu, no editors, instant pushbutton publishing, and a healthy skepticism of public official spin and media reports of same.
Michael Silence argued previously that it's the media's job to report these PR brain farts straight and let the public decide. Probably so, but readers also need to be informed and armed with good information to be able to make that assessment. I'd say the local media is coming around to that, and I'd probably give bloggers a little more credit for pushing it.
And at the end of the day, it's an interesting look at the symbiotic media/blogger/citizen journalist dynamic, and how an army of smart bloggers complements rather than competes with mainstream media and actually makes them better.
Not that any of this matters to the residents of Swan Pond, who just want to know if their water is safe or whether they will ever be able to go home again.
Topics:
|
|
Discussing:
- Trump: U.S. takeover of Gaza Strip, "Riviera of the Middle East" (3 replies)
- Gay Street Bridge will never reopen to vehicular traffic (3 replies)
- 22 states sue over Medical Research Funding (NIH) (3 replies)
- Rep. Barnyard Tim after the UTK furries? (1 reply)
- U.S. Treasury Dept. data breach? (2 replies)
- 19 (was 13) states to sue over Treasury data breach (2 replies)
- Hail, Caesar! (1 reply)
- Let them eat cake... (2 replies)
- How an arcane Treasury Department office became ground zero in the war over federal spending (6 replies)
- TN Voucher bill contracts with Arkansas reject (1 reply)
- Are Meta/Zuckerberg paying a bribe? (3 replies)
- Plane crash in the Potomac (3 replies)
TN Progressive
- Do Not Listen to Deranged Fascists Who Can Barely Read (RoaneViews)
- Must Read (RoaneViews)
- It's Time to Call For the Arrest of Elon Musk! (RoaneViews)
- Books (RoaneViews)
- (Whitescreek Journal)
- Lee's Fried Chicken in Alcoa closed (BlountViews)
- Alcoa, Hall Rd. Corridor Study meeting, July 30, 2024 (BlountViews)
- My choices in the August election (Left Wing Cracker)
- July 4, 2024 - aka The Twilight Zone (Joe Powell)
- Chef steals food to serve at restaurant? (BlountViews)
- Blount County, TDOT make road deal for gun mfg ignoring town of Louisville,TN, (BlountViews)
- Winter at the Big Rocks (Whitescreek Journal)
TN Politics
- Tennessee Sen. Becky Massey’s bad day (TN Lookout)
- Federal freeze includes $156M solar power program for low-income Tennessee households (TN Lookout)
- Tennessee Gov. names mix of officials, utilities and conservationists to Duck River advisory group (TN Lookout)
- Stockard on the Stump: Sexton and bail bond industry headed for collision (TN Lookout)
- Pain clinics made millions from ‘unnecessary’ injections into ‘human pin cushions’ (TN Lookout)
- Republican Senator says immigrant students won’t be blocked from public schools in Florida (TN Lookout)
Knox TN Today
- Football Vols will go as far as Nico takes them (Knox TN Today)
- Presidents’ Day in review of National Random Acts of Kindness Day (Knox TN Today)
- Public trust in physicians: Apology and explanation (Knox TN Today)
- HEADLINES: 2/17 (Knox TN Today)
- Karen Weekly speaks to KBA +++ (Knox TN Today)
- Covenant Health is leader in cardiac care (Knox TN Today)
- Barnes beat Vandy with halftime talk; Ziggy helped (Knox TN Today)
- Lady Vols secure much-needed SEC win (Knox TN Today)
- Book now to vacation at a TN state park (Knox TN Today)
- HEADLINES: 2/14 (Knox TN Today)
- Tom Harrington hikes Porters Creek: Finds February wildflowers (Knox TN Today)
- Coughing and Nikki Giovanni (Knox TN Today)
Local TV News
- Kentucky State Parks offers lodging to flood victims (WATE)
- East Tennessee roads closed due to flooding, storm damage (WATE)
- Church distributes food boxes to those in need following EF2 tornado in Morgan County (WATE)
- Police: Missing woman last seen leaving Home Depot in Morristown found safe (WATE)
- 'Like lightning striking twice' | Siblings share same rare congenital heart defect (WBIR)
- TDOT awards contracts for Greene, Washington County bridge rebuilds (WATE)
- 'I want to give that sense of Dolly to the world' | A Newport woman was named a finalist in the 'Search for Dolly' (WBIR)
- 'We want people to come up and meet us' | KPD training horses and officers on its mounted patrol unit (WBIR)
- Making memories: Couple reflects on 57 years of marriage despite wife's memories being stolen by encephalitis (WBIR)
- Tennessee lawmaker revives bill that would make written driving exams English-only (WBIR)
- Knox County planning to buy fire-plagued Fort Loudon Waste and Recycling in North Knoxville (WBIR)
- Knox County Schools names new chief of security after national search (WATE)
News Sentinel
State News
- Opinion: For a change, let’s get rid of our change - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Opinion: Signposts on the road to authoritarian rule - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Pay attention! Democracy in peril and more letters to the editors - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
- Shavin: My terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea - Chattanooga Times Free Press (Times Free Press)
Wire Reports
- Asia-Pacific markets mostly rise; Tencent shares at highest in over three years - CNBC (Business)
- Xi Jinping meets China’s tech titans including Alibaba’s Jack Ma - Financial Times (Business)
- Asia shares cautiously higher, yen buoyed by upbeat GDP - Reuters (Business)
- ‘Total shock’: Some federal employees dismissed just before ending probation - WTOP (US News)
- DFW Weather: North Texas should prepare for dangerous cold this week - WFAA.com (US News)
- Trump administration turns to US Supreme Court in bid to fire agency head - Reuters (US News)
- We've finally cracked why egg prices are really rising... bird flu is only a shell of the truth - Daily Mail (Business)
- Chance for wintry mix in the Piedmont Triad next week - WGHP FOX8 Greensboro (US News)
- U.S.-Russia meeting on Ukraine war expected on Tuesday, sources say - Axios (US News)
- Exclusive: Five Iraqi banks to be banned from US dollar transactions - Reuters (Business)
- Justice Department's independence is threatened as Trump's team asserts power over cases and staff - The Associated Press (US News)
- Investigators find 3rd victim from fiery Wyoming highway tunnel crash - Hindustan Times (US News)
- Severe flooding in Kentucky claims nine lives, prompts federal disaster declaration - Turn to 10 (US News)
- MAGA influencer Ashley St Clair claims Elon Musk is father of her child - KEPR 19 (Business)
- ‘Trump trades’ like the dollar and bitcoin are stalling, while Chinese stocks are racing ahead - MarketWatch (Business)
Local Media
Lost Medicaid Funding
Search and Archives
TN Progressive
Nearby:
- Blount Dems
- Herston TN Family Law
- Inside of Knoxville
- Instapundit
- Jack Lail
- Jim Stovall
- Knox Dems
- MoxCarm Blue Streak
- Outdoor Knoxville
- Pittman Properties
- Reality Me
- Stop Alcoa Parkway
Beyond:
- Nashville Scene
- Nashville Post
- Smart City Memphis
- TN Dems
- TN Journal
- TN Lookout
- Bob Stepno
- Facing South
fly ash coverage
I hope the coverage of the fly ash from Kingsport will help the NRR lawsuit here in Knoxville to proceed forward. Remember, at NRR they used to use fly ash in the compost they sold to the public. That practice has been discontinued. But, hopefully, all the coverage has brought back the problems this stuff can cause.
Randy in pajamas
Absolutely, Randy, your reporting was timely and right on, especially that the call to boil water was incorrect and dangerous. Thanks for providing good information when no one else was. However, I didn't realize you were in pajamas at the time. That's probably the main difference between you and the KNS.
Really?
"Michael Silence argued previously that it's the media's job to report these PR brain farts straight and let the public decide. Probably so..."
Really? If I want the PR brain farts straight I'll go straight to the source's website, or to BusinessWire or a similar paid PR distribution service. The media's job is to not only report what TVA claims, but also to challenge or confirm it with research, third-party validation, counterclaims, etc., and let the public decide based on ALL the available information.
Amen to that!!
-Sugarfatpie (AKA Alex Pulsipher)
"X-Rays are a hoax."-Lord Kelvin
Leading or keeping up? Just
Leading or keeping up?
Just looking at coverage today in print, the NY Times coverage of the spill is pretty good, with reaction from TDEC and TVA on the testing results from Appalachian Voices.
KNS, on the other hand, cites the test results from Appalachian Voices, but focuses more on the Kingston city government angle.
This story is so big, for the local rag to be claiming to be "driving the bus"...well...that's quite a claim.
I think the time for journalistic navel gazing is not this moment...
Michael is exhibiting more than a little hubris in hoping for the end of the "us vs. them" stereotype while simultaneously claiming victory over the bloggers in the same post.
The only bus KNS is driving is the one the unemployment office
In my opinion, never in journalistic history has a regional newspaper fallen so fast, so hard, and become so irrelevant to the local community than the KNS. Their agenda is quite clear and their journalistic capabilities are non-existent. They have routinely been scooped all the way from the UT practice facility all the way to city hall. They've tried to buy up all of the local weekly competition primarily the MetroPulse and the Halls Shopper, however, the rag is still a rag and the content is second rate, shoddy, and poorly written, in my opinion.
Most of its fall can be attributed to the publicly paid "spokespeople" who speak, spin, piss, cajole, and confuse all over local media which doesn't have the journalistic integrity or the editorial gall to question what local, state, and federal goverenments and their political equivalents say and do.
The KNS is an obsolete relic and hulk of a newspaper, which is given away free each and every Friday by the mayor's family business, all in an effort to boost circulation and in a round about way ad revenue rates.
KNS coverage was terrible
It took a week and attention from bloggers and bigger fish (Tennessean) for KNS to move beyond taking TVA's word about what happened and attempt to actually report the issues. If the story hadn't gone national, they would still be telling us that everything is fine, fish die from cold weather, and boil water to remove heavy metals. They did not do their jobs because they do not have the objectivity or scientific understanding to do so.