That AJC rag doesn't wag this Dawg

There's been a lot of chatter recently on message boards and social media about a certain recruiting writer for the state's prestigious flagship newspaper (ahem!) using headlines and copy that casts UGA in a negative light. For instance, a recruit committing to a rival program "over" Georgia when the courtship between Richt and said athlete had long ago cooled off.

Still trying to figure out who
Mike Campo is....

I don't read the AJC. There are times I'm sent links and even rarer occasions when I click over to see what's going on. There are even fewer times when I include a link to their online content here on the blog. It's just a different brand of journalism going on over there that I care not to involve myself with any longer.


Now, I know this Carvell guy works really hard; covering recruiting in this day and age isn't an easy task. And I don't pretend to know if he writes his own headlines or manages the Twitter account that pushes out his content. But it's clear that both the headlines and the Twitter updates are designed to grab eyes and garner clicks in masses. Does this practice irritate me? Absolutely. 


But you know what? It works. Those AJC readers race each other to be "FIRST!" (btw...WTF?) and then clamor over each other's comments. They're lemmings that are eager to provide a desperate rag clicks and page views. And if it helps those guys pay the bills in an age when journalism continues to adjust to fewer and fewer print edition readers, can you really blame them?


My advice today is the same as it has been for years. If the practice irritates you as well, don't let the tail wag the Dawg.