News Blues is a gossip, news and job posting site targeted at folks in the local news industry. Every week they post a picture of another local news bimbette in a section called "Lookers," and every day they link to mainstream news stories about local news personalities while, or as they say on the site, "aggregating tasty news gossip since 1998" and charging money to subscribe and see the tastiest stuff.It's a place for local newsfolk to settle scores, feed the rumour mill, and maybe get noticed by a talent agent, headhunter assistant news director in a market a couple of notches up on the food chain. We've contributed a story or two to News Blues and have even subscribed to the site in the past when work called for it.We've had no problems with News Blues and could only assume they had no problems with us. So imagine our surprise when we came upon another tasty media site called Chickaboomer and found this quote:
"Our newest favorite website is Soup Cans.
Not to be confused with
Not to be confused with
the mean-spirited Chickaboomer
or the equally malodorous Tabloid Baby."
--Mike James, News Blues
Malodorous? We looked it up to be certain we should be insulted. And sure enough:
The dictionary gave us
mal o dor ous |malˈōdərəs| adjective smelling very unpleasant.
mal o dor ous |malˈōdərəs| adjective smelling very unpleasant.
The thesaurus:
malodorous adjective several tenants in the building had complained about the malodorous apartment on the second floor FOUL-SMELLING, evil-smelling, fetid, smelly, stinking (to high heaven), reeking, rank, high, putrid, noxious; informal stinky, funky; literary noisome, mephitic. See note at ODOROUS.
ANTONYM fragrant.
Malodorous? What's up this News Blues guy's ass?
Chickaboomer is a pretty funny website. Nothing malodorous or foul-smelling about it that we can tell. And us? We sent an email to this Mike James of News Blues (the site says he's a former TV sportscaster who left television in 1980, and his email address is "surly editor"--how Lou Grant), and after getting confirmation that he had said such a stinky thing about us, asked:
Why would you call our site "malodorous"?
What have we done to offend you or what has appeared on our site that would deserve such an insult?
Is it our criticism of TMZ?
Support of striking writers?
Revelation that Tom Brokaw doesn't write his books?
And if we are so malodorous, why do you link to our stories?
Explanation please.
Mike replied:
We thanked Mike for his reply and informed him that we're not a simple news site, but a forum for commentary, criticism and satire. We didn't call him a pompous deluded blowhard wanker who in the recent past hasn't found our site too malodorous to link to or steal from, or point out that it's pretentious to include in your bio that you were nominated by your employer for a Pulitzer Prize you didn't win, but we did remind him that Ray Richmond, the well-respected television columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, recently praised Tabloid Baby for being "succinct, courageous" and "telling it like it is."
As for future battering, we urged-- and urge-- Mike to bring it on and keep it up!
We love the publicity.
Wanker.
ANTONYM fragrant.
Malodorous? What's up this News Blues guy's ass?
Chickaboomer is a pretty funny website. Nothing malodorous or foul-smelling about it that we can tell. And us? We sent an email to this Mike James of News Blues (the site says he's a former TV sportscaster who left television in 1980, and his email address is "surly editor"--how Lou Grant), and after getting confirmation that he had said such a stinky thing about us, asked:
Why would you call our site "malodorous"?
What have we done to offend you or what has appeared on our site that would deserve such an insult?
Is it our criticism of TMZ?
Support of striking writers?
Revelation that Tom Brokaw doesn't write his books?
And if we are so malodorous, why do you link to our stories?
Explanation please.
Mike replied:
I don't know you, and I don't have anything against you or your site.
My opinion, when reading it, is that you are carrying out some sort of personal vendetta against certain entities. That you let it get in the way of your writing. I don't know the history or background.
I just know that it soils what otherwise might be a witty and viable blog. I think we all have to be very careful not to let our opinions get in the way of reportage. Attitude is admirable. Constant haranguing is tiresome and unproductive.
That's my opinion. I expressed it once... and I won't continue to batter you on my website.
My opinion, when reading it, is that you are carrying out some sort of personal vendetta against certain entities. That you let it get in the way of your writing. I don't know the history or background.
I just know that it soils what otherwise might be a witty and viable blog. I think we all have to be very careful not to let our opinions get in the way of reportage. Attitude is admirable. Constant haranguing is tiresome and unproductive.
That's my opinion. I expressed it once... and I won't continue to batter you on my website.
We thanked Mike for his reply and informed him that we're not a simple news site, but a forum for commentary, criticism and satire. We didn't call him a pompous deluded blowhard wanker who in the recent past hasn't found our site too malodorous to link to or steal from, or point out that it's pretentious to include in your bio that you were nominated by your employer for a Pulitzer Prize you didn't win, but we did remind him that Ray Richmond, the well-respected television columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, recently praised Tabloid Baby for being "succinct, courageous" and "telling it like it is."
As for future battering, we urged-- and urge-- Mike to bring it on and keep it up!
We love the publicity.
Wanker.
.
ReplyDeleteGood for you TB, keep fighting the good fight.
Mike made some good points. But anyone who reads this site regularly knows there's a certain hunt & prey aspect to the TMZ posts. Is it settling a score? Who knows. The topics range wildly here, and the bad guys are like a 40s Republic Western... if ya don't know who's shooting, stay out of the way.
We all love this site. Harvey Levin deserves a tough critic. (Mike at News Blues should look at that as a possible topic.) We'll never see pop culture 'coverage' drop lower than it's at today.
Excuse me, I need to write a letter to Harvard now and address those crazy kids in togas. Something about Ms. Paris Hilton?? (...no!!)
He was awfully generous in that email. To give this site any credibility at all is a stretch.
ReplyDeleteMike James is not even a has been .. reason being .. he never was.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work TB
This is a case of the wanna-be pot calling the real kettle black.
Newsblues should stick to the farm in Flordia it comes from .. and somebody should warn any stray sheep that they may be in danger!