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Filed under: Imported

In yesterday's Pioneer Press, columnist Mark Yost penned a peon to the democratic spirit of the blogosphere. Positioning himself as the anti-Nick Coleman, Yost gushed over his ideological soul mates at Power Line and Fraters Libertas.

Blogs also have shown that column writing isn't rocket science. Indeed, the only difference between a post on Fraters and many newspaper columns is that the latter will get a second read from an editor. And that's what has the mainstream media scared — losing their monopoly. Instead of dismissing bloggers as "kooks" who represent a "fringe" element, editors and reporters would be wise to learn what they can from blogs.

Funny that Yost should have chosen this week to champion the egalitarian ethos of the blogosphere. I had my own run-around with Yost and his fellow Pioneer Press editorial writers last week. Suffice it to say they didn't seem much interested in dialogue.

I was working on a story about the proposal to build a damn around the St. Paul Downtown Airport. The Pi Press has repeatedly championed the project in editorials. But it has failed to acknowledge that its own printing press is adjacent to the airport and could potentially benefit from a new levee. Here's the whole story.

Yost refused to answer questions about the potential conflict. Citing company policy, he referred me to the paper's "communications manager" (whatever the fuck that is), Pat Effenberger. I left messages for Effenberger and Yost's boss, editorial page editor Art Coulson, but neither was returned. I subsequently sent Yost this email:

Hi Mark Yost,

Sorry to be a pain. I left messages for Pat Effenberger and Art Coulson about this airport dike issue. I realize you're following company policy. But I just want to point out that it's extremely hypocritical for a newspaper, which survives by relying on the willingness of people to speak openly and frankly, refuses to answer questions from a reporter.

Guess I should've more closely proof-read that last sentence! Anyway, I got zero response from Yost.

Perhaps I would've had better luck if I'd pointed out that I'm not just some outdated media hack, but also a blogger.