A Moment of Attribution

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December 18, 2006

A Moment of Attribution

I have a writing problem. No, it's not "block," though I often suffer from that.

It's the inability to effectively manage writing for a weekly publication such as the Pulse when I also run a weblog. There are so many differences, and there is so little time to adequately make the distinction.

The one difference I'm talking about tonight is the ability, in blogging, to hyperlink as a means of sourcing the material that goes into one's thoughts. This technique is not available when preparing for a print publication, so the latter always leaves me feeling strange.

I'm an honest person, and I would never intentionally pass off text as my own that I didn't compose. However, the lines get fuzzier when my composition is arguably a distillation of things I've read on various websites. Were I writing in this medium, I would very liberally link to posts and articles that inspired my output; but the conundrum is that in a paper column, there simply isn't room to list every piece, and its author and date, that may have helped spark a sentence or two. Beyond the layout problem, there's simply the matter of readability to consider. (URLs are much prettier when wearing the linked text.)

So, until I figure out how to best address this, let me just list a few (and here's what's worse: I'll miss someone) of the primary writers and publications that inform my weekly Pulse writing. Thanks to each of you for all you do.

A.C. Kleinheider of Volunteer Voters
Adam Groves of Tennessee Politics Blog
Michael Silence of No Silence Here
Jackson Baker of The Memphis Flyer
Bill Hobbs of BillHobbs.com
Sean Braisted of Nashville for the 21st Century
Brittney Gilbert of Nashville is Talking
Various authors at KnoxViews
The Tennessean
The Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee stories feed)
Chattanoogan.com