It’s a rare OC-focused story in this morning’s LA Times. Jennifer Delson reports on the collision between city commissions and the blogosphere.
Santa Ana council trying to quiet bloggers.
Three city board members and commissioners who write for orangejuiceblog.com have been asked to be less critical of city officials.
By Jennifer Delson, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 1, 2007Some Santa Ana council members have told three bloggers who sit on city boards and commissions to tone down their criticisms of city officials.
The bloggers, who write for http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/, often use inflammatory language and innuendo. They have attacked the motives of city officials, questioned whether favoritism influenced the awarding of city contracts, and criticized officials who don’t live in the city. The comments have led some readers to chime in with even greater rancor, including a woman who claimed to be the former wife of a city official.
Continue reading the story here.
The good folks over at OrangeJuice blog about the problems in Santa Ana because they care about the city. They criticize because they want to improve conditions. I think that makes them IDEAL commission appointees. If they post something that is untrue, others are free to refute them. Give the readers some credit – if Blogger X writes outrageous lies about city officials, people will no longer trust what s/he has to say.
The criticisms of the bloggers stem from their effectiveness. They have started to shake up the power structure in the city. People who aren’t accustomed to being questioned are being forced to defend their actions. An active, engaged public can only improve government. Keep up the good work over at the juice!
This is not new in Orange County. Strangely, almost one year ago managers at the Orange County Health Care Agency tried to silence me by accusing me of blogging from work. All because I posted this commentary Chris Norby and the Dark Side while I was on a lunch break.
I wasn’t blogging from work and they could find no evidence that I did so.
But in true county form, they wrote me up anyway. Here is more on the story Democratic Political Blogger is still without his computer, and more Dana Parsons on OC Bloggergate, and more R2D2 Returned, and the conclusion The Empire Strikes Out.
The HCA officials did not stop me, and I know that Santa Ana officials won’t stop the team at Orange Juice.
Thanks Ed for the support.
Gracias Ed!