Ohio online news community loses — and gains

With Ohio's mainstream daily papers mostly slanted far to the right, progressive blogs have provided a balancing voice — an alternative take on political news — over the last five or six years. At times, we've been the only ones paying attention to significant stories. Sometimes we've pointed out glaring omissions in mainstream coverage of issues. Sometimes we've even broken stories.

I've often wished there were more of us writing, because keeping up the pace when it isn't what you do for a living is difficult. Our output can rise and fall with what's going on in our lives — a problem professional journalists don't face and a key drawback to so-called "citizen journalism."

And sometimes it's time to step away. This blog's founder, Jeff Coryell, moved on after the 2008 election. His successor, Anthony Fossaceca, who is currently running for the state legislature, is about to do the same (I'm sure you've noticed he's been M.I.A. during most of the last year. He's been knocking on doors!)

And over at Plunderbund today, Brian Hester a.k.a. ModernEsquire, has announced that he is ending his stint as a blogger, as his day job as a lawyer began to conflict with his online writing.

http://www.plunderbund.com/2012/02/13/modern-esquire-2005-2012/

Plunderbund often provides in-depth analyses of legislative issues and activities in the governor's office you won't find in the Columbus Dispatch, and Brian's have been some of the most detailed. Although Plunderbund has several other regular writers — their education blogger Greg Mild is one of my favorite writers — he'll be missed.

Meanwhile, down in Cincinnati, journalist Bill Sloat has fired up his keyboard once again, reviving his dormant blog, the Daily Bellwether. It's great to see him posting nearly every day again, sharing professionally researched articles about Cincinnati's political scene.

http://thebellwetherdaily.blogspot.com/

And up here in Cleveland, Richard Andrews has been posting more regularly on his blog, the Real Deal.

http://rtandrews.blogspot.com/

Although he has found it difficult to follow through on his promise of a few months ago to post every day, he has greatly increased his posting frequency, offering a perspective from the area's black community, among other things.

I hope in the months ahead, new voices will crop up from different areas of the state, with different interests and areas of expertise. The print dailies increasingly serve as the mouthpieces of a powerful elite. It's up to us to capture and transmit what's happening on the ground.