Let the Blue Plate Special shine a light on me

There are many reasons I wish I were in college again*, and now there's one more: Jay Rosen's "Blogging 101" class at NYU. I was intrigued last month when he told me about it when we spoke for my "Fishbowl Final" interview series (scroll down for his recommended reading), and have been doubly delighted and impressed this month with the launch of "Blue Plate Special," the class' slam-dunk website.

The first special on the menu is newspaper blogging, served up hot and delicious by Rosen's bloggy brood (memo to Blue Platers: nothing says "delicious" like tomatoes!). Newspapers should be paying attention: their analysis is rigorous and exhaustive, and they make a strong case for their conclusions. Editors should take notes and thank them for the free consulting services (NB to the NYT: Jay Rosen wasn't kidding, he really thinks WaPo is kicking your ass). Blue Plate's "State of Newspaper Blogging" chart is so very interesting, as are the comments (see how TimesSelect blogs didn't make the cut! And, why don't you make it sortable?). As a Canadian, I must admit that I was a bit disappointed to see the data limited to the U.S.; you can imagine my tearful joy to find a whole entire juicy big long blog post devoted entirely to the state of Canadian newspaper blogging (which itself is not nearly as big and juicy as it ought to be. C'mon, Edward Greenspon, read your email!).

There is a lot to be learned from Blue Plate Special, for newspapers and bloggers and readers alike. This is what happen when smart people take the time to really look at something: discoveries, insights, and thoughtful observations ensue. Let the Blue Plate Special shine a light on all of us; we'll probably learn something.

p.s. If you don't know CCR when you see it, maybe you'll know it when you hear it. Click! Listen! Sing along!

Blue Plate Special [PressThink]
Introducing PressThink's Blue Plate Special [PressThink]

*I'd say low metabolism, but this blogger was well-acquainted with the Frosh Fifteen back in the day.