E-Media Tidbits

Romenesko has published a letter from SFGate.com columnist Mark Morford, explaining (in a limited way) what happened to him, and how he came close to getting fired for his use of profanity in his e-mail newsletter. (I've been reporting on this here in recent days.) His popular (and unpopular; Morford has a legion of critics as well as devoted fans) and irreverent column will continue (as will his employment with the San Francisco Chronicle), but his e-mail newsletter may not.

Is this about more than just the use of a profanity in an e-mail newsletter? Probably, though Chronicle executives declined to talk to me about it. But Morford's troubles point to a larger issue, I think. He's one of the most "creative" and "over-the-line" columnists writing under the paycheck of a major media company today. Most traditional news companies, I suspect, wouldn't touch him. And I think that's a problem.

In an item I posted earlier, I expressed my admiration for the snarky weblog Wonkette by Ana Marie Cox. There's another writer that mainstream media companies probably would shy away from, at least in her current form. She regularly uses profanity in her blog items, and blogs about such (blush) things as John Kerry's penis size. She's HBO to mainstream media's Disney Channel. But she's smart, funny, topical, and attracting a devoted following. Perhaps writers like Morford and Cox should be welcomed by mainstream news companies -- especially for online publication where profanity and off-color humor are less in-your-face and can be walled off by warnings. I think mainstream news companies need more people like Morford and Cox if they are to remain relevant to today's audience. What do you think?