UrbanGrounds interviewed for a UT blogging class

Amy Lavergne—a local blogger and a multimedia journalism student at the University of Texas at Austin—interviewed me about my views on the Austin Blogosphere for her Citizen Journalism class.

The interview is posted on both her individual and group blog.

Listed below are the interview questions posed by Amy, along with my responses:

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1. Have you noticed anything that makes Austin bloggers unique in the blogosphere?

Austin is a unique city in which to be a blogger to begin with, and that in and of itself differentiates Austin bloggers (collectively) more than probably any other city.

First of all, Austin has one of the strongest political heartbeats of any city in the US — this was where President Bush started his political life, this is where our Democrats run to Mexico to avoid votes; we’re never more than a stones throw away from any major Texas (and thus national) story— think Waco and the Branch Davidians, think Cindy Sheehan in Crawford. Throw in Tom Delay and Ronnie Earl, and it’s hard not to get caught up in blogging about Texas politics.

Second, Austin is one of the top 3 wireless cities in the United States — seemingly everywhere you go in this city is a wireless access point. Even some of our outdoor parks are wireless-enabled. Which means that live blogging is possible everywhere you look.

Add to that the nation’s largest student body, and you’ve created the perfect storm for blogging.

2. What has been your favorite event to cover in Austin so far?

My favorite blogging event in Austin was the Ann Coulter appearance at the LBJ Auditorium earlier this year. It was a memorable event, not so much for the speech itself, but for the opposition Coulter’s appearance on campus caused and the subsequent arrest of Ajai Raj.

I added video (that I shot) to a blog post for the first time with this event, plus, it sparked some interesting debates and flame wars amongst Austin bloggers (via blog posts and blog comments). I felt involved in a nation-wide story (I even went to the Travis County Courthouse and obtained a copy of Raj’s arrest record for that night, and then stumbled across an earlier on-campus arrest record for Mr. Raj for marijuana possession {I meant to scan and post those public documents, but never did}).

3. Do you think Austin blogs reflect the city itself? In what way?

I do think that the Austin Blogosphere is representative of the city’s culture.

The two biggest Austin cultural icons — our University and our politics — are the two best and most frequently covered topics in the top Austin blogs (some would argue that Music is one of our top two cultural icons, but I would argue that music takes a back seat to the U and to politics, especially in the local blogosphere).

The Austin Blogosphere is unabashedly and inarguably Liberal — and most of the best Austin blogs revolve around state and local politics (Burnt Orange Report, Pink Dome, Grits for Breakfast, and In the Pink Texas). Meanwhile positive or substantial blogging on behalf of local and state Republicans is scarce (though Travis at Voice in the Wilderness gives it a good shot).

The common theme I’ve found in all Austin blogs — regardless of political stripes or genre — though, is an overwhelming sense of pride and love for the city itself.

4. Anything else you’d like to add?

Yes, thank you for asking. I think that the Austin blogosphere has magnified the inadequacy of our local newspaper, the Austin American Statesman. With the breadth and depth of coverage provided by Austin Blogs, it’s glaring how much the Statesman misses, under reports, reports incorrectly, or reports with so much Left-leaning bias as to be laughable.

And to add to question number one, I think another aspect of uniqueness regarding the Austin blogosphere is the relative levels of civility between Bloggers on the Left and Right. You see much more intelligent and civil debate and disagreement between Austin blogs than you do in other cities. Austin bloggers, for the most part, conduct themselves as if they might actually run into each other at the local coffee shop or diner. And that’s probably because there’s a good chance that they will.