Silence is golden

Longtime Knoxville News-Sentinel reporter Michael Silence is among dozens of people laid-off in a pre-holiday style that one media commentator aptly described as "Scroogified" on Twitter. I have had the pleasure of reading his column, "No Silence Here" for years, meeting him face-to-face on one or two occasions, and I can say without a doubt that Michael's support and even promotion of my blogging has been a personal buoy to me.

Having said that, I also acknowledge that he and I do not see eye-to-eye on a host of issues. Nevertheless, if you ever read his responses at KnoxNews.com to something I've tapped out you would barely be able to see that.

When I heard that his entire compendium of work at No Silence Here would eventually disappear into the ether, as if his good work had never been done, I went looking for a memento, a keepsake for myself to remind me of what a noble man Mr. Silence is.

Posted below is what I am keeping for myself. I'm posting it not to use Michael's words to convince readers that I am a nice guy but to show you all what I am going to miss: Michael's nobility toward a lightning-rod blogger with whom he disagrees.

Journalists and social media

Source.

I'm hardly the brightest bulb on the planet. In fact, on a good day I'm only dimly lit. But it didn't take me long in 2002 to figure out blogging was a great listening post. And it was clearly a forum to give people a voice who otherwise were voiceless. In 2004, we expanded that forum for online voices by creating No Silence Here, which cruises along to this day.

So I took interest in a posting by Mike Byrd of Enclave, a blogger I've respected and followed for years. His post criticizes his hometown newspaper, The Tennessean. I'll comment on the subject more broadly. I know little of the issue he writes about.

Byrd writes: "The more journos use social media to defend their product rather than act for the sake of the common or a principled good, the more they slip from a seat of legitimate gatekeeper of information. Hence, we need social media and blogs in particular to get information past the disingenuous branding and the flackery of the Tennessean. Reporters already crowd Twitter for specific reasons and hawk their product to many, many audiences. If we fail to strive to keep social media an authentic alternative then it will be colonized via this generation of acquisitive journalists by government power and corporate money. It will be sapped of its peculiar and distinct potential."

A valid point, but I would argue instead we need both. Social media and the traditional press are checks and balances and ferrets for news and information. And that makes journalism better. Do we need to sell some stuff along the way? You betcha. I've got a seven-year-old to feed and educate. That's a reality, too, for the wide array of bloggers who eagerly accept advertising. Byrd raises a valid concern, though: Don't lose sight of the mission: keeping people informed with facts, not spin. And I would add along the way, the kissin' cousins make each other better.

Posted by MICHAEL SILENCE on September 30, 2011 at 8:03 AM | 

About Tennessee Republicans' attempt to micromanage Metro Nashville

An Enclave reader writes to express dissatisfaction with the failure of the press to draw out the hypocrisy of a Williamson County Republican's attempt to kill Metro Nashville's non-discrimination ordinance from the top-down in the General Assembly:

Did you know State Representative Glenn Cassada opposed the Metro anti-discrimination ordinance against GLBT and wants to overturn it?

Did you know Cassada doesn’t live in Davidson Co?

Did you know Cassada has worked for the Pharmacy giant Merck/Schering Plough in the animal health division of for the last 23 years?

Did you know Merck/Schering Plough has its own diversity program for both employees and suppliers (http://www.merck.com/about/how-we-operate/diversity/employee-diversity.html)

Did you know Merck/Schering Plough celebrates it number 9th position in the Top 10 companies for GLBT employees (http://www.merck.com/careers/life-at-merck/diversity-recruiting/home.html)

Did you know the company Cassada works for has its OWN supplier diversity definitions (http://www.merck.com/about/how-we-operate/diversity/definitions.html)?

If it is not bad enough that Tennessee Republicans look dishonest on this red-meat issue, the Out and About blog points out that they are on the same side of Tennessee history as the 1920s Knoxville Ku Klux Klan.

Knoxville neighborhoods take aim at vacant, blighted properties

According to Knoxviews, two nationally know experts will be in Knoxville on Thursday evening to speak with community leaders about dealing with vacant buildings and blight:

Their visit to Knoxville is part of a joint city-county-neighborhood effort to identify the scope of vacant, blighted properties in the city and county, and to consider strategies to reduce the number of such properties, thereby improving neighborhoods and commercial districts, as well as stabilizing property values.

“Abandoned properties pose significant fire and safety hazards, lower nearby property values, attract vandalism and criminal activity, and generate increased demands for government services such as codes enforcement, police, and fire,” said Madeline Rogero, director of the City’s Community Development Department. “Dan [Kildee] and Amy [Hovey] have worked with cities and counties across the country to develop strategies that work” ....

“Abandoned property is a burden on neighborhoods and local government,” says Grant Rosenberg, director of Knox County Neighborhoods and Community Development Department. “We look forward to this joint effort reviewing our current programs and policies and studying best practices across the country in order to develop more effective local strategies.”

The Sound of Silence

Knoxnews' Michael Silence weighs in on my latest tangle with SouthComm journos and apologists:

I love a good blogger/MSM clash because, you know, all 100 million bloggers in this world know nothing about what they are talking about. How dare them come and pee on our Ivory Tower. We know what's best for you, so pay attention. Damn upstarts. The utter gall of it all.

Words of Encouragement from Knoxville

At a time when spirits on the opposition side of Nashville's light emitting diode billboard battle may be flagging, one of Enclave's Knoxville commenters reminds us that the ban on LEDs and electronic messaging centers in that city was not instant or inevitable without a protracted fight:

This was a hard-fought battle that was finally won thanks to a group of dedicated folks at http://www.scenicknoxville.org/

There is currently a 6 month moratorium on digital billboards as well in Knox County. See more discussion here - http://www.knoxviews.com/node/10840
and http://www.knoxviews.com/node/6362

Keep fighting! Once people realize how intrusive they are, it will make it easier to rally neighborhoods.

Good luck.

Wreck of the Tennessee Gravy Train Began with Collapse of a Nashville Firm

I've been delving into the history of the bank panics of the late 1920s/early 1930s  that kicked off the Great Depression of last century. I was not aware that a Nashvillian, Rogers Caldwell, played such a pivotal role in the collapse of banks and insurance companies across Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, and North Carolina in November-December 1930. The collapse of the Caldwell and Company financial empire also contributed to bank suspensions across the southeast region in January 1931.

The ruin of Caldwell and Co. started with the closure of the Bank of Tennessee in Nashville in November 1930. Time Magazine reported on the 24th that the bank's liabilities were more than its assets, and that its total cash on hand was $32.55. (Elmus Wicker describes the Bank of Tennessee as "strange," because it did not have any individual depositors.  Instead, its clients were municipalities and corporations that did business with Rogers Caldwell). Nashvillians stampeded local banks, and panic spread to Tennessee's other urban centers. By the end of December 1930, 19 Tennessee banks had failed since the demise of the Bank of Tennessee.

Rogers Caldwell sounds like he would have been right at home among the precipitating factors of the 2008 financial crisis:

During the 1920s Caldwell expanded into other areas, buying insurance companies, banks, textile mills, oil companies, department stores, and assorted other businesses. He also expanded his bond operations into the private real estate market, underwriting the construction costs of hotels and office buildings. As Caldwell's financial empire and fortune grew, he developed a lifestyle that included racehorses, lavish entertainment, membership in exclusive private clubs, and Brentwood Hall, a magnificent Davidson County estate patterned after the Hermitage.

By 1921 Caldwell's financial empire was experiencing serious difficulties. Unknown to the public, Caldwell had never followed standard business practices, and his company was overextended, with no realistic cash reserves. His personal expenses far exceeded his annual salary, with the difference charged to the company.

One writer says comments that Caldwell spent the better part of 1930 "scrambling for cash and transferring assets" among his various holdings without telling those companies what he was doing. Insurance companies held by Caldwell charged that he cheated them by buying stock in other Caldwell holdings in Missouri for almost three times the latter's market price. The State of Tennessee lost $5 million it had in Caldwell affiliated banks.

Of course, this story wouldn't be complete without a corrupt newspaper publisher and dubious ties to state government. Caldwell's partner was the Nashville Tennessean's owner, Luke Lea. Together they had scooped up various banks and two newspapers: the Memphis Commercial Appeal and the Knoxville Journal, no doubt with the intention of guaranteeing that the Caldwell empire received positive press for their misguided endeavors. Lea used his influence with Tennessee Governor Henry Horton to leverage a state highway contract for a Caldwell-owned asphalt subsidiary without a competitive bid process. For his actions, Horton was impeached, but then acquitted by a majority in the Tennessee House.

In response to the bank panic, Uncle Dave Macon wrote the "The Wreck of the Tennessee Gravy Train," a depression-era classic that at least one person has recorded on YouTube:

Knoxville First in TN to Gold Certified LEED Affordable Housing

R. Neal has the news.

Hesitant Knoxville Office of Neighborhoods Concedes Budget Includes Lobbyists

Not good:

Alison Wagley, director of the Office of Neighborhoods, was hesitant to explain up to $40,000 in her budget. But, after grilling by commissioners, she finally conceded it was for the county lobbyists. Finance Director John Troyer said that amount is cut by $10,000 next fiscal year.

That's not exactly a deep cut given that the Director could not without some embarrassment divulge what the money was for.

Two Threads Coming Together

Knoxviews ties together the LED dramas playing out concurrently in two Tennessee cities and wonders when and if the state will get more involved.

That Popping Ain't Corks

[T]he housing industry in 2007 may be where technology was in early 2001—engaged in the first serious hard times the industry had seen in more than a decade, finally aware of the problem, but still a long way from the bottom.

- - Slate's Daniel Gross

Enclave commenter CE Petro updates us on the "fizzle" in the Knoxville housing market bubble after the jump.