The Solomon Scandals’ bureaucratic setting—a few decades later
Much of The Solomon Scandals is about conflicts between friendship and duty. A rickety high-rise may tumble as a result, with hundreds of IRS and CIA workers inside. Washington has a culture of traded favors, one reason why Congress and the Interior Department unwittingly let the oil spill happen in the Gulf.
And how about the General Services Administration in the era my novel depicts? GSA was still recovering from the Nixonians’ politicization of it. A $600,000 cafeteria went AWOL at the Environmental Protection Agency, for example, even though the lease required one. The landlord had been a pal of Vice President Spiro Agnew.
Under Barack Obama or for that matter under Zeus or Jehovah, the GSA would still have its flaws. One ticklish mission is to pick the most deserving recipients of government contracts; so the corruption potential is high. But guess what? Among the 28 large agencies ranked by The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government, GSA’s leadership recently came in fourth in the category of effectiveness of leadership, including the integrity factor—a stark contrast to the Bush years, when Administrator Lurita Doan resigned amid accusations of cronyism. Overall the “Best” this time was eight, and from afar, I suspect the rank will get better under Administrator Martha N. Johnson, who, fittingly, served as VP for organizational culture at Computer Science Corporation.
- GSA: A checkered past
- Martha N. Johnson: GSA’s new leader vs. dirty politics—the ‘Solomon Scandals’ angle
- Crooked politicians mean tumbling buildings—in countries from Egypt to China, not just U.S.
- Don’t scandalize away students’ idealism: Clueful questions from history class at George Washington
- Sen. Ribicoff’s spooky investment
A guide to the Solomon Scandals site
What? A Web site about a novel—and yet here’s a series of articles on hyperlocal journalism?
My explanation: The Solomon Scandals itself is a dark and highly fictionalized look at the newspaper industry as it existed in the late 20th century after Watergate. But the pesky issues persist in real life—for example: Just how trustworthy are newspapers? And how about the perennials such as the conflict between friendship and duty, especially in a place like D.C.?
Rather than just rant on and on about the obvious, I thought it would be more constructive and interesting to come up with solutions, such as a reinvention of local coverage. Hence the hyperlocal series. At the same time, you’ll find basics about the novel—everything from an overview and character list to a Q & A with my protagonist and a continuation of it, a long Rothman bio that along the way depicts the social milieu in which I’ve set Scandals. A shorter version of the bio is here. Scandals is on sale at Amazon and elsewhere and was required reading in a history course recently at George Washington University. (1969 photo taken by the late Jack Weir.)
- Solomon Scandals hyperlocal series so far: A list for latecomers
- Psst! Here’s how to order ‘The Solomon Scandals’ from Amazon—even if the box says you can’t
- July 21 global chatcast—with free ‘Scandals’ MP3s for the blind and other print-challenged people
- ‘David Rothman’ namesakes: Egosurfers, here’s what the rest of us are up to
- Bio
Solomon Scandals hyperlocal series so far: A list for latecomers
Late to the hyperlocal series in the Solomon Scandals blog? In reverse order, here’s a list of key parts.
–How hyperlocal journalism can help big media grow closer to local communities, just posted today.
–TBD D.C.-area news site not a steady riser in early Alexa stats. But let’s wait for the full story.
––Washington Post vs. Patch.com and Examiner.com
–How Washington Post and New York Times could outgun hyperlocal sites like TBD and Baristanet.
–Georgetown Dish joins TBD blog network: Deju vu angles—in Washington Post’s backyard.
–How TBD could use hyperlocal journalism to kick the Washington Post’s butt.
–TBD, meet NYC’s Westside Independent: Role model for SOME neighborhood blog affiliates?
–Washington Post vs. Allbritton’s TBD Web startup plans: BOTH sides could do better.
–‘What Would Google Do’ with my old steeltown newspaper in Lorain, Ohio? Here’s what I’D do.
Please I’ve avoided a formal approach, so you won’t see “Part One” and so on.
- Coming: How the Washington Post and New York Times could cope with TBD and other hyperlocal networks
- Georgetown Dish joins TBD blog network: Deju vu angles—in Washington Post’s backyard
- ‘I write like William Shakespeare’: Paste ‘The Solomon Scandals’ into this Web form and see for yourself
- TheGeorgetownDish starts up: Hyperlocal newspaper war ahead? Or a friendly buyout?
- Washington Post vs. Allbritton’s TBD Web startup plans: BOTH sides could do better
How hyperlocal journalism can help big media grow closer to local communities
Update: Other hyperlocal-related posts here.
I killed my Washington Post subscription several years ago, one of millions of Americans to give up on printed newspapers.
My Reason #1 was the trash factor. But many readers have other, less friendly explanations. More than a few trust the press about as much as they do HMOs, banks and big business in general. For some, the local daily might as well be a giant paper Pinocchio. Just this week, a futurist was saying that newspapers would be irrelevant in 12 years, thanks to such practices as Web-based crowd-sourcing. Wish fulfillment for many readers?
Hyperlocal journalism, however, could at least help the Washington Post and other established news organizations regain trust by growing closer to their communities with good, verifiable content and opportunities for readers to speak back. Ideally it could grow revenues, too. In the era of Google News and stories from thousands of sources, all over the planet, why not focus on compelling local stories? Why not encourage neighbors to care about neighbors, not just about distant—in more than one sense of the word—politicians and movie stars? Already flagship newspapers reel in a mere 56 percent of the readerships of certain major metropolitan media companies, perhaps partly reflecting hyperlocal’s growing importance.
But how to do hyperlocal properly and maximize synergies between it and other activities within a newspaper company or broadcasting one, while reducing redundancies? Ahead I’ll share my specific ideas with established news organizations in mind, following up on earlier hyperlocal suggestions for them. My biggest goal for this series is to lay out hyperlocal strategy options for everyone, not favor the giants; and, in fact, The Solomon Scandals novel features a large, colorfully dysfunctional newspaper. The big guys and media monopolies in particular—even and especially in small towns—have their sins, including a fixation in some cases on lucre at the expense of journalistic quality. Gordon Gekko would be proud.
Still, “big” has its glories, too. Well-financed chain papers, for example, with the right people in charge, can better resist neighborhood car dealers enraged by localized stories about safety recalls. That’s not all. Often—it’s hard to generalize—the very best hyperlocal journalism can’t happen for long periods of time on the cheap. And even the most gung-ho of the small-fry stand a good chance of burning out eventually.
I recently sold a small e-book Web site, which, although focused on a topic-related community, not a geo-based one, beset me with many of the challenges described here.
- Solomon Scandals hyperlocal series so far: A list for latecomers
- Washington Post vs. Patch.com and Examiner.com
- Hyperlocal journalism: Georgetown publisher robbed—and eager to tell neighbors about it. Lesson for the Washington Post?
- Wash. Post killing off domestic news bureaus: D.C. ‘prism’ better than the full story?
- TBD.com hyperlocal site in D.C. area is live—and my detailed analysis is on the way
‘Journalism warning labels’: Helpful in Assange case?
Check ‘em out. Might this one apply to some commentators’ reaction to the false sex accusations against WikiLeaker Julian Assange?
Via Dan Bloom.
- The new question: How did the false rape allegations happen against WikiLeaker? Any governments responsible?
- A few words on tech, ‘screening’ and e-text—and Danny Bloom (1949–2032?)
- Gore sex probe dropped in Oregon: A NONscandal, without sufficient follow-up in the Washington Post and Politico
- Al Gore’s ‘scandal’: Sex attack claims from Oregon masseuse are dodgy so far
- Coming: How the Washington Post and New York Times could cope with TBD and other hyperlocal networks
Buying info and other basics
Vis-à-vis real life
Newest comments
David Rothman on How hyperlocal journalism can help big media grow closer to local communities
Steve Buttry on How hyperlocal journalism can help big media grow closer to local communities
A public-relations rookie’s handling of the TBD launch « The Buttry Diary on TBD’s hyperlocal judo is smart and ethical: How should rivals at the Washington Post and elsewhere respond to all the linking ahead?
Amy L. Kovac-Ashley on Rx for Patch’s hyperlocal sites? Downplay McMaps and beef up some of the writing—and photos and story placement
Recent Posts
- The Solomon Scandals’ bureaucratic setting—a few decades later
- A guide to the Solomon Scandals site
- Solomon Scandals hyperlocal series so far: A list for latecomers
- How hyperlocal journalism can help big media grow closer to local communities
- ‘Journalism warning labels’: Helpful in Assange case?
