I never read this guy....

But Jay Mariotti sounds like a real douche.

Which brings me to today's links:

1) "Not once in the last eight years can I recall seeing Mariotti in the Cubs' or Sox' clubhouse. With a press credential that allowed him access to every major sporting event and every major figure, he hasn't broken a single story in that time. He says Chicago is a weak market, the competitive edge gone. He has only himself to blame." Click here.
2) "One of them is frantically trying to engineer a meeting between Captain Morgan and Ted Sorenson, the painfully dignified Democratic legend who is finishing an interview with Tavis Smiley just as Captain Morgan bursts into the tent, T-shirts and Morganettes in tow. That person is me, and, in this, I am a failure. But, then again, we are all sort of failures here." (Via Romenesko).
3) "The former New York Times correspondent, U.S. propaganda maven, and leader in the anti-Castro movement is one of the last of the hard-nosed newsmen from the World War II era. His story pits a combative watchdog against a deceitful politician in one of Miami-Dade's wealthiest burgs — a place that despite its high profile and 42,000 residents rarely receives much media scrutiny." (Via Romenesko).
4) "I'm talking about the press corps' irritating habit of remaining seated during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the start of each night's session." (Via Romenesko).

Links for today...

1) Eight ways to get interactive data on your site.
2) Major League Baseball standings get more sophisticated.
3) A new Web site allows home buyers, real-estate developers, nonprofit groups and any other interested parties to map neighborhoods for free using a wide range of data, such as per-capita income, education levels and unemployment.

And...Not really journalism-related, but kind of cool. Devon Energy is building a new 54-story tower in downtown OKC that's pretty damn nice. Here's some pics from friend Steve Lackmeyer.

NBA team? New tower? Things are looking up in OKC.

What I'm reading....

I regularly forward some articles I read to a former boss of mine. He asked where I get this stuff...and then wanted me to forward everything. So instead I guess I'll try --- once again --- to start posting some of the things I'm reading. We'll see.

1) "The newspaper industry has a devastating history of letting the future of media slip from its grasp." (Via Romenesko).
2) "In the coming year, expect a lot of papers to eliminate money-losing Monday, Tuesday and Saturday editions, dump their classified advertising sections and combine forces with rivals or outsource overseas." According to this post, all options are on the table. Too bad newspaper executives didn't a sense of urgency a few years ago.
3) What is it you do here again?