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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, March 21, 2010

No such thing as the News Fairy

Hey there, Mr. New Media Guy. It's me, Old Media. You know, the dinosaur.

I'm way over here, in the back row of the planning commission. It might be kind of hard to see me from where you're sitting at Starbucks, blogging about my last story, but can I just say one thing? These seats are hard.

So, apparently I'm dying. I am aware of this, because, while I am indeed a member of the old guard, I actually do read your blog.

Hoo-boy, am I soooo no longer relevant. You called it, Mr. New Media Guy. I have totally not harnessed the full power of social media. Yup, I'm a goner. And that's just tragic, Mr. New Media Guy — especially for you, because without me, you're not going to have a lot of news to "report."

Now, don't get all huffy, Mr. Laid-Off Journalist Blogger and Mr. Multitasking Reporter Who Tweets. Or you, Mr. Peer News Man. I know you guys are gonna be out there getting the story, too.

Twitter, blog, print, whatever. You're doing original reporting, so we're cool.

No, I'm talking to Mr. New Media Guy.

See, I've been sitting in planning commission meetings and budget meetings and council meetings and every other kind of meeting for so long now, I've got calluses on my behind. I've spent a chunk of my life sitting in court, too, and if there's one thing harder than the seats at the planning commission, it's the benches in court.

I've marched around the perimeter of dusty brushfires and come back smelling like smoke and blowing black goobers out of my nose. I've gotten sand in my cute shoes covering beached whales. But there's one thing I haven't seen at any of these places, Mr. New Media Guy: you.

And that's funny, because I hear about all these events on your blog/podcast/app/ Twitter feed. Where'd you get your information, the News Fairy? LOL! But seriously, thanks for giving me credit some of the time.

Hey, I know I've been a little late to the party. I got stuck at work. You're right, Twitter is totally cool, and I love using it to share the news I break. I've even used it to connect with sources I never would have reached otherwise. It's awesome.

But the thing is, there's only so many hours in the day, and that planning commission meeting isn't going to cover itself. It's called journalism, Mr. New Media Guy. You're welcome.