Media

Quite a number of locals blogged about the Tarheels victory last Monday night. Permeating our unity in support of this team is quite a lot of diversity in our reactions. Here is a collection of blog posts on everything from the players to the politics:

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On the partying:

Town Council Member Sally Greene: "Fire chief Dan Jones came up with this: why not have an official bonfire somewhere on campus? But UNC hasn't warmed to the idea, and the police chief isn't so sure about it either, thinking shades of Texas A&M."

Sally was also guest blogging at Is That Legal? where she posted the police report and my picture of two women climbing a pole at the corner of Franklin and Columbia. Sally's husband Paul Jones posted pictures of the victory celebration at the Dean Dome when the team returned.

An interesting debate has erupted nationally over the lack of women among the punditry. Katha Pollitt (niece of our own celebrated Dan Pollitt) wrote in the April 4 Nation about recent reports including one that only 20% of the LA Times op-ed authors were women. The Washington Post has only one woman among its 19 pundits and only 10% on its op-ed page.

Pollitt quotes the NY Times' Maureen Dowd that there are "plenty of brilliant women.... We just need to find and nurture them." To which Pollitt replies "Oh, nurture my eye. It may be true that more men than women like to bloviate and 'bat things out'--socialization does count for something. So do social rewards: I have seen men advance professionally on levels of aggression, self-promotion and hostility that would have a woman carted off to a loony bin--unless, of course, she happens to be Ann Coulter."

The Independent reports that veteran journalist Mark Schultz will be returning to Orange County:

The N&O has also lured away longtime H-S reporter and current metro editor Mark Schultz, who will be in charge of both the Orange County bureau of the newspaper and its community paper there, The Chapel Hill News.

This can only be good news for the local news. It indicates a serious commitment to our area by the N&O and a willingness to compete with the Herald for coverage and circulation. The competition should keep both papers engaged in Orange County, much to our benefit.

From a reader's perspective, Schultz did a great job when he previously edited the Chapel Hill Herald. He is a fitting replacement for Ted Vaden.

Welcome back, Mark.