I have a typical pattern of “checking things” when I first arrive in the morning. I check my voice mail and e-mail of course. Then I check the web site to make sure there aren’t any pending abuse reports for comments or blogs and take a look at site participation. I was a bit surprised to check in this morning and discover several comments about today’s editorial.
The editorial, about a proposed global warming tax plan in Los Angeles, was reprinted from the Orange County Register (part of our chain of newspapers). I run editorials from them on state, national and international issues because we share a libertarian viewpoint. Normally, their editorials don’t garner much response on the site because they’re not about local issues, and of course, local reporting drives our readership and online participation.
Figuring then that another site must have referred to or linked back to us, I decided the check out our web stats. Much to my surprise, we had set a new record for page views for an entire day, even though it was only 8:30 a.m. After some investigation, I found out the Drudge Report had linked to the editorial, which was driving thousands of folks from outside Barstow to come take a look.
I certainly don’t mind the boost in page views for a day, but felt bad because the OC Register was responsible for them. I did let the editorial crew there know they had gotten a Drudge Report link, even though it was through our site.
Know your audience
April 22nd, 2008, 9:50 am by Scott ShackfordWe’ll be running The Orange County Register’s editorial about Propositions 98 and 99, the competing eminent domain measures on the ballot in June, in Wednesday’s Desert Dispatch.
I know some folks tend to ignore the editorials we run from other newspapers, but OCR’s editorial writers are experts when it comes to eminent domain issues, and they’ve certainly taught me a thing or two. I consulted with one of their editorial writers, Steven Greenhut, before taking my position in support of Proposition 90 back in 2006. I will ultimately write my own editorial prior to the June vote, but OCR’s editorial writers are saying what I plan to say anyway.
Whenever there’s a state proposition on the ballot, I get inundated with press releases and phone calls from folks hoping to bend my ear and influence our editorial stance for the vote. Yesterday I took a call from a polite woman who wanted to encourage us to take the exact opposite stand that we’re taking. I don’t argue with these folks, because there’s no point in it. It’s not like I’m going to convince this paid shill to change sides. But it did amuse me that she clearly had no understanding of our libertarian editorial position (not that I blame her; at times I feel Freedom Communications is pretty much alone in the mass media wilderness in our worldview). She attempted the “bandwagon” argument by pointing out all the government agencies and organizations that oppose Proposition 98 and support Proposition 99, unaware that this actually makes me more skeptical of her claims.
Her big misstep, which they keep repeating in their e-mailed press releases, is try to convince me to oppose Proposition 98 on the grounds that it harms rent control laws. I don’t support rent control laws (and I say this as somebody who rents a house), so this argument has the exact opposite effect of their intentions. And they’re not convincing me otherwise with such arguments as “Proposition 98 hurts real people,” somehow suggesting that people who rent property are not real people and don’t have rights.
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