just this past week was noting (saying to rg & joe, too) what a contrast btw Tim Goodman who has continued to regularly mention his typing strain etc and Chicago Tribune Maureen Ryan.
Compare this.

>> More about Maureen Ryan
I'm the television critic at the Chicago Tribune.
A word about comments: They don't appear until they are approved by someone; that someone is mostly me (I'm basically looking for slander, libel, bad language and extreme length, etc; please, please, don't swear and keep your comments to under 5,000 words. I'm kidding -- less than that would be nice). So anyway, there may be a delay from when you post your comments to when they appear.
I've been doing this blog since about August of 2004, but made the switch to Typepad in October 2005.
Thanks much for stopping by. Interacting with readers is one of best parts of my job. Apart from the whole "getting paid to watch TV" thing.

in fairness, her blog posts seem to be her columns, just formatted chronologically and with comments enabled. so she is not doing extra writing of posts. or maybe on occasion? but I did read her saying -- oh it was in the same spot, now quoted above -- that she monitors the comments -- reading every one before it appears (hence there's a delay, which is what she was communicating in what I read) -- so it is work for her. she just seems much better-natured.
well tim goodman does call himself crankypants I guess. and he is fun to read and deserving of credit, as hickcity so well gives him above, along with wonderment at the level of complaint. (does he not think his job is more pleasant than plenty of others? not that it is all pleasant, or not a job that one does for renumeration not bcs one wants to)
anyway if this comes up again, him totally ceasing the blog, then maybe I'll post a comment suggesting his blog simply be his columns, where the community that has formed can then discuss them... (I suppose maybe the SFChronicle could outrule that, but don't see any reason they should)

_____________________________________________________________placing below old post (saw it bcs starting to rvw posts with label fvr-converstn and it was at the top - I like v much what hickcity says) amplified with what tim said about stopping the blog.

Saturday, January 6, 2006

Tim Goodman: New Year's resolutions... Blog less » :
I'm back in the resolution game. I'm e-mailing my friend Sue my personal resolutions for 2007. But I also have some professional ones I'm willing to share here. No. 1: Blog less. Seriously, I know I've been in vacationland most of December and this early part of 2007, virtually NOT blogging. But now that I'm back at work, I'm really, truly going to work on not blogging. So much, I mean. I don't think they'll let me stop. I'm told that's the future. (Apparently in the future, we all work twice as hard for free. sheesh complainy I think the smart dude in the wheelchair figured this out long ago. It's a black hole.) Plus, I don't really want to stop entirely. Sometimes blogging is useful (speed, feedback, lack of editors fixing my egregious mistakes). Mostly it's just more work, more time killed in the ether, more repetitive stress injuries on the arms, a common ailment among professional typists like me. pretty ungenerous not to appreciate commenters at all here. Besides - Jack Bauer doesn't blog. And Charlie Don't Surf. So if I type another sentence here, I may be going back on my resolutions. I'm already conflicted. Oh, well, it's gonna rain anyway. Maybe I won't go to the driving range. But one of these days, the Machine is gonna stop.

I'm sorry to hear The Bastard Machine is going to stop, it's a terrific site. I chose my screen name just so I could post comments on it. Oh well, at least my father is going to be happy. Maybe one of the regular TBM commenters could help keep the train rolling. I bet HickCity could do a spot on literary impression of Tim Goodman. Posted By: sonofabastard | January 03 2007 at 09:39 PM

I am not a shrink, or a therapist. That said, I don't think golf is gonna be the solution. There has been an undercurrent theme of dissatisfaction in your posts since after last summer's DMWC. check. Sometimes the finger gets pointed at the crap you must sift through as a critic. Sometimes it's illness and the physical pain from typing. Sometimes it's just biting the hand that feeds you. check check check. It's clear that despite the 'community' that exists at The Bastard Machine check (thanks to your wit, snark...and good taste check), the result remains that you resent check the mandatory cranking out of acerbic columns for the SF Chronicle, AND the additional burden of maintaining a Blog that does not provide any additional income. Fair enough. ok. I've never met you and this read is pretty obvious. nice.
Here is a possible solution to the dilemma. Rather than approach The Bastard Machine as an extension of your writing duties, where you set the stage with a well thought out theme, and then suffer the slings and arrows of wide-ranging comments, what if you set it up so that YOU get what you might want. All of the folks who post comments are happy enough to see there own thoughts posted. yep. a simple and more generous solution. If your Blog posts merely guided your readers with short simple themes (often related to your column), and random discussion Blog headers were posted in-between (say you provided the occasional potshot snark among the comments) you could probably achieve a balance that was more manageable. Whatever you decide, I hope you get past the frustration you're feeling.
Oh, and Happy New Year! Posted By: hickcity | January 03 2007 at 10:06 PM
elegant balanced criticism & suggestion, hickcity.
due credit given "thanks to yr wit & good taste" as the due "obvious read'" of crankypants's dissatisfaction is made -- due, because yes the proportion of compaint in tim goodman's posts is noteable -- with a bit of bite: "sometimes the finger is pointed... despite the community... you resent" -- an even handed statement of the circumstance goodman complains about - writing the blog in addition but without additional pay to his regular reviews, which does not sound like a bad lot but fair enough if experienced as one. I am impressed, hickcity.

Hickcity, I'm not sure there's a true underlying dissatisfaction on my end. There's definitely some public whining, but it's probably mixed with some faux drama as well. Still, shorter posts are certainly a possibility. A fine suggestion. Posted By: TimGoodman | January 03 2007 at 10:37 PM

Like any labor of love, when it stops being fun, we stop doing it. No need to apologize. I'm not a shrink or a therapist, either, but I am a philosopher of sorts, and all I have to say is nothing lasts forever. Posted By: dsgonzale6 | January 04 2007 at 04:22 PM well but did he apologize? I don't think ought keep blogging if dont want to, and an apology isnt quite the thing called for, but wld welcome more appreciation of the commenters and regret at the loss for them if the blog stops. maybe this is there, btw the lines or elsewhere that I did not see.