Earthquake In Ohio Blogosphere: Jerid Kurtz Departs Buckeye State Blog

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- He's finishing law school at Case Western Reserve University, moving on in life and is signing off as the primary voice and proprietor at Buckeye State Blog. Jerid Kurtz posted his pre-dawn farewell today, and The Daily Bellwether wishes him health, luck, less stress and success in the journey ahead. His insights and opinions and flair definitely will be missed. Jerid truly is irreplaceable. But change is always out there lurking, and now BSB has new handlers. Welcome to the new crew. And let's watch what they can do at the granddaddy (three years old) of Ohio's political blogs.

Ohio Presidential Primary Warning: Don't Believe Everything On The Blogs

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Somebody posted a detailed statewide analysis of Ohio's congressional districts on Buckeye State Blog. It purports to explain how each district should be expected to vote in the March 4 presidential primary. But what appears expert or credible can be quite deceiving. The author reports that 40% of the residents in OH-02 -- a congressional district with some of the state's poorest counties -- are college graduates. That 40% number is a grossly exaggerated figure, a pie-in-the-statistic that makes the depressed Ohio River Valley into Ohio's super-educated valley. The truth: Most counties in OH-02 have fewer college grads than Ohio as a whole, a state where just 13.7% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree.

Here's what was reported:

"CD 2 -- (Cincinnati suburbs and rural Ohio River counties) Represented by Mean Jean Schmidt, this district has a low African American population, although almost 40% of district residents have a BA or a graduate degree. Hillary should win this district, but not by a large margin, resulting in another 2-2 split."

There are five Appalachian counties and portions of two others in OH-02. In the five Appalachian counties, there are more high school dropouts than grads. And Hamilton and Warren counties -- Cincinnati and its fastest growing suburb -- don't come anywhere close to the 40% college grad level. The latest demographic data available from the Ohio Department of Development for the OH-02 counties shows:

1. Adams County -- 31.4% of adult residents did not finish high school; 4.4% have bachelor degrees.
2. Brown County -- 25.2% no h.s.; 5.5% have BA/BS.
3. Clermont County -- 18% no h.s.; 14% have BA/BS.
4. Hamilton County (Cincinnati) -- 17.3% no h.s.; 18.5% have BA/BS.
5. Pike County -- 29.9% no h.s.; 6.3% have BA/BS.
6. Scioto County -- 25.9% no h.s.; 6.4% have BA/BS.
7. Warren County -- 13.8% no h.s.; 19.3% BA/BS.

Too Much Cincinnati On Hillary's Ohio Website? That's What BSB Seems To Think

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- OK, so there's a bridge over the Ohio River and a bit of Cincinnati's downtown skyline in the banner (shown above) from Hillary's Ohio page. But it is the OHIO River in that picture -- a waterway that gave the state its name. And the bridge was built by John Augustus Roebling, who went on to build the Brooklyn Bridge with his son. The Brooklyn Bridge happens to be in New York City, in the state that Sen. Clinton represents in Washington, DC.

That said, it's not clear where the grist mill is located. Could be somewhere in NW Ohio, or NE Ohio -- where Buckeye State Blog pointedly notes most of the state's Dems are located. Supposedly, it's a slight to Democrat-rich NE Ohio that that Cincy gets play on Hillary's page. The gripe: The city is supposed to be conservative and Republican.

Wrong, Buckeye. Cincinnati's mayor is a Democrat, as is the council majority. Two of the three Hamilton County commissioners are Dems. True, the county normally votes R (the city votes D) but Hillary may be doing her part to bring about change. She may be trying to ease it from the right side -- where it now is displayed on her banner -- to the middle by November.

As to the red barn in the middle of the banner, that looks like somewhere in Central Ohio. The land along the Ohio River is just not that flat.

OH-02 Dem Primary: 'Wulsin Girl' Was A Paid Wulsin Staffer

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The Wulsin Girl video that is making a splash in the Ohiosphere has raised a question. Should there have been a disclaimer somewhere in the reporting about singer Ann Driscoll's ties to candidate Victoria Wulsin, who is running for the OH-02 Democratic nomination? Driscoll's performance has popped up everywhere from The Plain Dealer's OPENERS political blog to The Cincinnati Enquirer's POLITICS EXTRA. Nowhere do the reporters seem to make clear she once was a paid staffer for Wulsin -- perhaps they were burned by some exquisite viral marketing by that camp.

Back in June 2006, Driscoll posted on the pre-Jerid version of BuckeyeStateBlog over the need for transparency and disclosure in politics. She wrote about a joint appearance by Ted Strickland and Wulsin, who was the Dem party's nominee against U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt. Driscoll said Strickland had enthusiastically endorsed Wulsin that year, and added:

"Full Disclosure: I am currently a paid staffer for Dr. Victoria Wulsin. I first got my start in blogging as an early supporter of her candidacy in the special election primary last summer, which Paul Hackett ultimately won. In light of the recent discussion regarding the dubious ethics of some of the biggest liberal bloggers in the nation, I think it is especially important to emphasize disclosure and transparency."

[UPDATE: 7:45 AM -- Jean Schmidt has seen the video and praises Driscoll. She told WKRC-TV, Channel 12: Ms. Driscoll is obviously a talented young woman. I liked the tune but have some issues with the lyrics. It's cute, she did a great job." The TV news report mentioned that Driscoll had worked for Wulsin previously, but called her "a past volunteer in the office." That seems to imply Driscoll was not a paid staffer.]

The Buckeye State Blog Blowup: So Far e-Mails Show Sharp Words, No Extortion

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Jerid Kurtz, the current proprietor of Ohio's Buckeye State Blog, has shipped to The Bellwether a string of private e-mail from March and April 2007 between himself and Democratic political consultant Paul Ackerman, a founder of the blog with whom he's had a falling out. The correspondence won't be reproduced verbatim here -- suffice it to say there are some personal things discussed. Those portions are neither racy nor outrageous so don't get the wrong idea. They simply touch on neighbors, or events that happened while growing up, and they really are nobody's business.

However, in the pertinent portions of the e-mails about the feud, Ackerman and Kurtz swap and exchange sharp words about Buckeye State Blog content, the reach or circulation of the blog, how much an ad would cost, and who might be likely to see it. Strip away the personal animosity between Ackerman and Kurtz that erupts in their private exchange, and the correspondence is pretty bland fare. Recently, Kurtz has said he felt Ackerman was trying to shake him down because of some of the words used in the March set of e-mail, which is something that I was not able to read into the e-mails that I have seen. Kurtz has also explained in a separate e-mail to me the shakedown remark was an unfortunate comment not meant to imply extortion. It was a riff that grew out of his opinion of Robin Weirauch, an OH-05 congressional candidate who was a client of Ackerman's consulting firm. I will quote from that e-mail:

''However, I won't let anyone maintain a chip that they think they can use against me or the site. Please keep in mind this particular blowup sparked from a Columbus political consultant that is unhappy with how I describe one of his former (and perhaps future) clients, Robin Weirauch (who for all I know is a perfectly wonderful woman). I'd say his threat reflects poorly on Paul's acumen.

"And, that claim that I made that forced Paul to threaten me?

"'His problems linger from past issues with that site, and with not being able to shake me down when he's contacted me previously. First time I ever conversed with the guy he was an ass (was pissy asking for site statistics, and gave me some lip about Russell lying to him.'"

"A simple misunderstanding. He interpreted the statement I made to mean I was claiming he was extorting me for money. In the context of the sentence, I just meant he was shaking me down for current site statistics (which I try to avoid advertising are in fact accessible to the public via blogads. Generally, nothing good comes out of a request for statistics). Regardless, an email my way from Paul during our blowup could have clarified that that wasn't what I was implying.

"Sorry to bug ya' or drag you in."

Kurtz also forwarded a copy of Ackerman's message from Monday Sept. 10 that demands a formal retraction of the shakedown allegation. Ackerman contends he has been defamed. (I won't quote verbatim what he says because he didn't send me the message himself).

The feuding between the now-fractured Buckeye State Blog family members appears to be continuing. Will Ackerman accept Kurtz's retraction? Or will there be some sort of legal action? At the moment, it still seems to be up in the air.

Ohio Democratic Activist Paul Ackerman: Alleges Buckeye State Blog Inflated Readership Stats

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- There's little question that Buckeye State Blog has a national reputation as the most influential and important Democratic voice in the Ohiosphere. Now there's an ugly allegation that falsified readership data was posted online by BSB last year in an effort to boost its significance and denigrate As Ohio Goes, another progressive blog based in Ohio.

Some might be tempted to write the tempest off as pointless. Who cares if a blog inflates its readership with bogus numbers? But the truth is, honesty is an important quality. It is about character. It is about not cheating. It is about not being corrupt. It is about not being a deceiver or a fraud. It is about not saying one thing and hiding another. It is about not being a political voice who points out the ethical flaws in others while dismissing one's own. It is about not practicing what one preaches. It's about not being part and parcel of the truth-stretching political crowd.

This is what appeared in a comment from a BSB founder last year:

""Submitted by staff on Thu, 08/03/2006 - 9:03pm.
You're hilarious.
I think we are done. Enjoy hickman and whacky andy.
ps - thats 1 million visitors, not views - i have over 3 million views. Keep dreamin'"

But this week the claim of one million visitors and over three million views has been described as a falsehood by Ohio Democratic political consultant Paul Ackerman, a BSB insider who has been booted after a falling out with the blog's administrator. A disagreement about the vacancy in Ohio's 5th Congressional District escalated into rancor. It started over a minor point -- a discussion about who might be among the likely candidates to succeed Republican Paul Gillmor, who died earlier this week after falling down the stairs in his suburban Washington apartment.

As things grew more heated, Ackerman wrote:

"And as for Russell? Yes, he did lie about statistics on BSB. The thread where he bragged about hitting 1 million visitors and 3 million views is here. [Ed Note: It appears above]. At the time he posted that, I still had full access to the sitemeter account that I had created for this place and I knew it was complete bullshit. I must admit I wasn't all that concerned at the time, and when in a private moment I mentioned it to him, he laughed and said something like it made BSB look better. No surprise that he changed the password to the sitemeter account right after that."

Ackerman's post is troubling. He says BSB published the false claim about its statistics during the same point in time when Ohio Democrats, and the blog, were actively denouncing the culture of corruption that led to Tom Noe and the BWC scandal. Did the blog have its own culture of corruption?

I sincerely hope that there were no falsehoods about statistics, no inflated numbers, no disgrace or fall from grace. But the episode -- from what is known so far -- appears distressing at least, dishonest at most. Was somebody in the Ohiosphere so ethically challenged they could utter an untrue statement and think nothing of it at all? In other words, does lying come that easy? And one more question: Aren't Democrats supposed to be better than that?

Bloggers Vs. MSM: It Sounds Like Ohio's Jill Miller Zimon Is Raising A White Flag

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com have come a knocking at her door, and Jill Miller Zimon now wants to rachet down the racket that has often pitted the Ohiosphere against the mainstream media. Has she joined an armistice caucus? It even seems as though the gentlelady who authors Writes Like She Talks is proposing peace talks nationwide -- not just in Ohio -- and is writing about it, too. But don't release the doves just yet.

Of course, many are not ready to abandon the trenches. The Daily Bellwether down here in Cincinnati itches to practice Ho Chi Minh journalism, popping up unexpectedly and ready to ambush the MSM. Bizzyblog has battled the The New York Times and duels with the MSM on a site called NewsBusters. And Joe Hallett at the Columbus Dispatch has been a repeated target of salvos from the 'sphere, whose hard work he has been prone to write off as copycat or derivative. Wendy Hoke tangled with the Society of Professional Journalists, then abandoned her membership because it tried to put the interests of Big Media ahead of the indies and freelancers.

Truth is, the MSM is quite a different beast.

The vast majority of blogs are sole proprietorships, or tight knit operations with tiny staffs. Most of the MSM looks like a social insect colony by comparison. There are editors who decide what stories may say. The are other editors who decide where they are played. There are yet more who decide the headlines. And then some more who pick the pictures. There are writers and reporters and photojournalists who have stacks of editors on top of them, so many it can seem like there are hot and cold running editors . And there are editors over the editors. The top editors answer to publishers, who often answer to corporate masters in distant locations.

And the MSM -- print or broadcast -- isn't run for public service, the personal satisfaction of producing content, or even the pursuit of partisan political goals. Its sole bottom line is profit -- making money by reaching a mass audience.

Another difference: Most MSM outlets occupy a specific hunk of turf, and they are loathe to let it go. The Toledo Blade, or the Columbus Dispatch, or The Plain Dealer, all have their hometown audiences and they cater to news and topics for that little slice of the universe.

A blog isn't chained to any patch of real estate, but it can enthusiastically be chained to a philosophy or partisan viewpoint -- often those are the only reasons for a blog's existence. It can be inclined to start fights or quarrels. It can be anti-Wal-Mart, or pro-Wal-Mart. It is free to be anything it wants.

Buckeye State Blog is partisan as hell, but it is not focused on Cleveland readers or a Cleveland market. BSB's Jerid wandered all over New Hampshire like a Democratic Johnny Appleseed this summer covering the presidential campaign on a shoestring. He sowed his opinions and watched them sprout. No MSM outlet in Ohio has attempted to do that, nor would it dare. A reporter could suggest it -- but an editor would have to review the work -- and a bean counter would have to approve spending the money before shuttling someone off to the Granite State.

And then a story about Mitt Romney -- well, it might not be news at all if there was a fire in a house on a suburban cul-de-sac somewhere in Delaware County.

So praise the blogs and pass the ammunition. Don't go AWOL in the struggle between Us vs. Them.

Yes, the MSM has the bigger guns. But the bloggers seem to be very precise marksmen. Although another simile comes to mind from the world of social insects -- termites. They are hardly ever seen, but their munch packs punch. And when termites eat away the foundations, even the biggest edifice can topple. And if you are a blogger, and you hear your keyboard clacking as you write, that's the sound of termites munch, munch, munching away . . .