This Just In...
Kevin Fischer is an award-winning veteran broadcaster who has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for nearly three decades.
Kevin, who is a legislative aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, “InterCHANGE,” on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their baby daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.
It's official: Franklin bloggers are obsessed about Boomgaard
By Kevin Fischer
Sunday, May 18 2008, 07:45 PM
DISCLAIMER FOR EVERY SINGLE BLOG KEVIN FISCHER WRITES ABOUT BOOMGAARD FROM 5/4/08 UNTIL HIS LOVELY AND MUCH YOUNGER WIFE, JENNIFER FINALLY DOES HIM IN: KEVIN FISCHER ENTHUSIASTICALLY SUPPORTS THE VISIONARY BIG PICTURE CONCEPT OF THE S. 27TH STREET CORRIDOR, BUT HAS PROBLEMS WITH THE NAME, “BOOMGAARD DISTRICT” AND HOW IT CAME TO BE (i.e. zero input from public).
Obsessed.
I think that assessment is accurate.
During the week of Sunday-Saturday, May 11-17, there were many, I mean a lot of blogs about “Boomgaard.”
Let’s go to the BOOMGAARD SCOREBOARD: Who wrote ‘em and how many?
GREG KOWALSKI: 11 (out of the 13 blogs he wrote the entire week)
FRED KELLER: 7
KEVIN FISCHER: 4
JANET EVANS: 3
JOHN MICHLIG: 2
BRYAN MAERSCH: 0
That’s 27 blogs on Boomgaard last week written by Franklin bloggers.
Now, is there anything wrong with that?
Absolutely not.
I’ve said it often, especially to other bloggers who’ve asked me about topic selection that you write about what you’re interested in or passionate about.
Here’s what I find interesting.
During that same time period, how many Boomgaard blogs appeared on OakCreekNOW?
After all, this is the hottest topic ever in the history of Franklin and Oak Creek, isn’t it?
Congress needs to investigate.
Governor Doyle should call in the National Guard.
Mark Belling and Charlie Sykes even talked about it on their radio programs (and because they did, suddenly, we really like them).
Local pols are lying. (Even though we don’t know who, what or when, we’re going to blog it anyway).
They met behind closed doors and VOTED, THEY VOTED, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM, FOR BOOMGAARD (well, not really, darn it).
So, how many blogs did the OakCreekNOW bloggers write last week on this potential Pulitzer?
Try ZERO.
How can that be?
Don’t they realize how scandalous this story is?
There’s no way of knowing, but it makes we wonder if people in Oak Creek don’t really care or aren’t as bent out of shape as the Franklin folks. Maybe Franklin folks aren’t all that angry either. We have anecdotal data, but certainly nothing scientific.
Belling and Sykes?
They were smart to bring it up because it’s a great talk radio topic, not because of any earth-shattering scandal, but because the name Boomgaard does warrant immediate giggles and sneers. As a talk radio host myself, any topic that can heap some ridicule and create laughs will get air time. (If either host hinted at a controversy, it was because of false information they read on one or more of the blogs).
As far as a scandal goes, I’d love cold, hard facts and evidence that we’ve had government malfeasance.
So far, we know poor judgment was made in selecting a PR firm with a dubious track record that came up with a name that’s highly questionable.
We asked why the public wasn’t let in on more of what was going on. We got answers. We don’t like the answers we got.
Should the entire affair been handled differently?
Of course.
But how many times are we going to put on our Boris Karloff masks and yell, “BOOMGAARD….BAD!”
Probably a lot more.
Because Franklin bloggers (some more than others) are obsessed.
