Open Thread: Citizen Vs. Professional Journalists

Can the two get along and does it matter to the information consumer?

On Saturday night, the information age presented the Baltimore area with a highly unusual situation. Local blogger Frank James MacArthur, aka A.F. James MacArthur or Baltimore Spectator, was involved in a standoff with police, who were trying to take him into custody for allegedly violating probation. He has since been taken into custody on gun possession charges stemming from weapons found in the home after the standoff ended. Whereas a decade ago, the information would have predominantly come from television networks and the websites of major news publications. MacArthur used online tools available to tell his side of the story. North Baltimore Patch Local Editor Adam Bednar discussed this topic on the Marc Steiner Show Wednesday on WEAA…

•  11 Comments
• Photos (1)

Around Town

VIDEO: Who Wins in This Modern Day Standoff?

Neither driver wanted to budge in the middle of the congested parking lot at the Festival at Woodholme Shopping Center Monday.

Perhaps not to this extreme, but most drivers can relate to the frustration that occurs while maneuvering the roadways of suburban America. Two drivers had enough Monday while in the parking lot at the Festival at Woodholme Shopping Center. Somehow both vehicles came face to face next to the lot's main intersection, and neither seemed willing to budge. Road rage is no joking matter—it plays a role in up to 56 percent of fatal crashes in the United States each year, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. We'll cut the suspense: After about a 10-minute standoff, the gold car on the left calmly reversed and drove away. I offered my services as a lookout for the silver car, but the driver declined to back up first.

•  3 Comments
• Videos (1)

Janet Metzner

11:13 pm on Monday, November 28, 2011

I prefer to go in from the back road and park there. It's much easier to get out from there as well. The walking doesn't bother me.   more ›