Category: Commentary/Editorial || By Jason Togyer

Since my little announcement on Tuesday, some people have said very nice things. Thank you. I wasn't fishing for compliments, but it's nice when you throw them into the boat.

Yes, there will still be news here. But generally, I'm going back to writing with a bias about those things that interest me, which is how this all started out back in 1996 or thereabouts.

In other words: Caveat lector, which is Latin for, "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Here's another reason for my decision to change directions a little bit. I can't really say I'm covering "news" because I can't really cover "news."

First, I don't have the capability to cover most (or even much) "news." Covering just police and fire news, for instance, is a full-time job, so I've generally ignored it, unless someone sends something to me.

That gets to back to the idea of why "citizen journalism" is basically a joke, in my opinion; gathering news takes time, and people need to be compensated for their time, unless they're independently wealthy, which I'm not.

Second, I'm not covering "all of the news." I'm compromised because I know certain information that's privileged, and I don't write about it.

Look, I sit on the boards of three non-profit organizations (not including Tube City Media), including two that do business with the city. I thought I could work both sides of the street; I can't, in clear conscience, and I need to stop pretending that I can.

This is another problem with "citizen journalism." "Citizen journalists" are going to write about those things that are fun or interesting, and those things generally do not include (for instance) the details of pension plans.

Or, they're going to write about subjects where they have axes to grind and causes to promote. Most of what passes for "news" at The Huffington Post could be put into those categories, which is why I generally regard much of The Huffington Post as about as reliable as the gossip I pick up at the barbershop.

I realize I'm a nut, and maybe this just sounds pretentious, but I would like Tube City Almanac to be a little bit more transparent than the HuffPo.