That might actually be the funniest thing you’ve written, Kai.

Is there an Ironic Sans font?

“but in order for anyone to, you know, care”

But that’s the thing, I don’t care what you think. I appreciate what you think, but I don’t care. I’m not writing the Enema for commercial or financial success. If I break even on an issue I’m happy. I’m writing it because I get joy from the process of creating it.

@Olly:

My issue was with the connotation of ‘pissing’. TWE doesn’t solely make attacks on other campus newspapers and I wanted to attempt to break that idea.

“No offense, but people would probably show a bit more deference to your sense of humour if your publication didn’t have the word “COMEDY” printed in large and apparently unironic letters above its name.”

Wait, the ‘conservative’ on this page isn’t ironic? Jeez, guys, this is getting confusing!

(but seriously I’m having a ton of trouble parsing that sentence. Can you break it down for me? Is it another ‘you aren’t funny’ statement, but with ‘because you say you are funny’ added onto it?)

On a different note:

Timothy, what happened to your blog?

And

Funny / Not Funny / Lame Rip Off / Whatever. How about a Weekly Enema / Oregon Commentator drink up at Rennie’s some time soon?

(Also:

“If I have to retract one thing I’ve said, I’ll retract the statement about the OC needing someone funny on staff. It wouldn’t hurt, but it isn’t needed.”

No offense, but people would probably show a bit more deference to your sense of humour if your publication didn’t have the word “COMEDY” printed in large and apparently unironic letters above its name.)

(a) What is the siren? I’ve never heard of that on campus.

(b) The OC does have standing on campus that TWE does not have and may never have. That should not prevent us from making what claims and comments we have against the other papers on campus.

You do not and should not need to be a part of the ‘old-boys’ club to make a comment about the other papers on campus. I’ll reference my preceding post to point out that what comments we have made towards the OC and the ODE are far from pissing.

Issue #1 we said that the ODE was ‘like a mini Register-Guard but with more sports coverage.’ and that the OC ‘is in serious need of a copy editor, a designer, and someone who is actually funny.’

In issue #4 we repeated the comment about the ODE and said that the OC ‘has some really awesome people working for it who, thanks to the power of print and the Internet, manage to come off as huge douches. Not unlike ourselves, actually.’

This isn’t pissing about other papers.

The ODE does lack exciting stories and I do think of it as register guard jr. That isn’t a bad thing, it’s my opinion, and the supporting evidence is right in front of your eyes. But that said, they have won awards. They have tons of respect. I don’t think that TWE will win any awards or gain respect in the world of journalism like the ODE has. I respect them for their accomplishments and their commitment to the paper, but the paper does read as being washed out. It doesn’t grab me. I still respect it.

The OC does need a designer, and *maybe* someone who is funny. But that isn’t your thing, you’re the conservative journal, not the humor paper. The copy editor comment was a lame shot, but when we wrote that we did feel that the editing was lax. As is TWE’s. We’re working on it and I have been impressed with the quality of the OC’s blog and print edition the more I read it. If I have to retract one thing I’ve said, I’ll retract the statement about the OC needing someone funny on staff. It wouldn’t hurt, but it isn’t needed.

I wouldn’t call this pissing. You might. That’s fine and great. TWE does not have a reputation to stand against when making these comments, but this isn’t pissing. We’ve taken shots at you, you take shots at us. I highly respect the OC, the ODE, and all the other campus newspapers. Out of that respect I feel I can make critical statements. TWE isn’t better than the other campus newspapers, I use the other papers on campus as a yardstick whenever we print an issue and I’ll be the first to say that we have come up short every time. But we keep trying.

The OC is an excellent blog and newspaper / magazine. I don’t have the conservative views that it does, but I read every post here and every copy of the OC I can. I’ve even started glancing through the back issues in the archive. I’m impressed with what you guys do. I’ve said it once before, but it deserves repeating. The OC was part of the inspiration to (re)launch TWE on the U of O campus.

If the two statements we’ve made in print are ‘pissing about how other papers suck’, then I stand by them and will continue to do so.

EDIT: To add to Tyler’s point: The OC has pretty good standing to beat up on, say, the Voice, the Siren, the Insurgent, the Weekly Enema and to some extent the ODE (although to be fair putting out a daily is hard work and the ODE guys do it pretty well for college). Probably can’t have too much to say about the NYT.

The Enema seems to have standing to mock…well, maybe the Siren.

“I have absolutely no clue what this references. Enlighten me?”

I’m highlighting how you can’t call bullshit on everything as a beat journalist. That’s it.

Anyway, my bigger point — and I don’t want to be a jerk — is that once again, all this pissing about how other papers suck, when you have no authority to accuse them of sucking, is a little annoying.

And before this is pointed out: Yes, the OC does this — and did it extensively when I was there. I’m just saying that you need some supporting evidence to back up your argument.

I did read it. I think that it is a fine paper and that they are right to be embracing a digital medium, but I’m totally not the right audience. You’re correct on that.

“I’m sure you have a long career as a beat reporter ahead of you.”

I am in no way seeking a career in journalism.

You’re attacking the humor paper as not exemplifying journalistic integrity. That doesn’t make sense. I’m not positioning myself on the level of the OC or the ODE. Sure, I’ll take punches at them, but I’m not saying that TWE is a newspaper. I’m maintaining that it is a humor paper.

“Just keep that in mind before mindlessly bemoaning the state of some small community paper you haven’t read.”

My initial comment was over the top, but I feel it was awkward for Lee to drop the link into the discussion and not engage in a discussion or point out some redeeming parts of the paper.

““BULLSHIT, YOU ASSHOLES””

I have absolutely no clue what this references. Enlighten me?

And think of it this way: Perhaps the LO Review isn’t interesting to you because you don’t live in Lake Oswego. Golly that, eh? You mean you don’t care about sewage rate increases in an upper-middle class subburb? What a damn surprise!

I’m sure you have a long career as a beat reporter ahead of you, if your awesome Weekly Enema is any indication of your news gathering prowess, so here’s some career advice: As a city council reporter for a community newspaper, you generally can’t scream “BULLSHIT, YOU ASSHOLES” every 10 seconds like a tourettes patient off his meds (nor can you perform the written equivalent).

Just keep that in mind before mindlessly bemoaning the state of some small community paper you haven’t read. Sorry to go on a diatribe; I just don’t think you have any authority to be critical.

Would you like to engage in a discussion? I’m sure these comments will be hostile towards you, but I would see it as a large positive if you took the time to respond to questions about working on the paper, the content, and how it doesn’t ‘generally just play City Council skin flute for a soccer mom audience.’

Irony. Amusing.