Southern Watch, the blog that Missouri Southern State University President Bruce Speck and Board of Governors member Dwight Douglas have read religiously since its beginning, is closing shop, according to an item posted today.
Whoever has been responsible for the anonymous blog indicates that the problems at MSSU may receive more scrutiny from the Joplin Globe now that Melissa Dunson has gone from working public relations for the university to doing the same thing for TAMKO, but as I have noted before, the problem with the Globe's coverage of MSSU rests higher up the food chain.
It will be interesting to see if someone takes over Southern Watch's role as a thorn in Bruce Speck's backside.
Given the mountains of problems that Missouri Southern has in terms of its administration, watchdog sites like Southern Watch are sorely needed. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and the bugs at MSSU have for too long been allowed to grow and fester in the darkness, unaccountable to stakeholders.
ReplyDeleteOn this score, we should commend and thank Southern Watch for taking the time out to perform this desperately needed service. So I certainly hope that someone picks up the baton and keeps running with it, starting up a new site.
That said, I hope that if another MSSU watchdog site comes into existence, it is run in a more professional way than Southern Watch. Much as SW performed a needed service, they did not always do so in a way that lent respectability and credibility to the cause. Too often they were overly childish (in a variety of ways), and I'm sure that this made it possible for some people to write them -- and the cause they were championing -- off.
I hate to say this, because I am thankful that someone stepped up and did the job. I just think the next person(s) to pick up the baton can do an even better one.
You mean you wouldn't consider yourself a thorn? :-) You tend to delve deeper into the issues than Southern Watch did. I look forward to your continued analysis of the situation at MSSU.
ReplyDeleteWe will post this later to the website, Anon 5:08. But we will say it here for now.
ReplyDeleteWere we immature and offensive and asinine? Yes.
Are we sorry? No.
We were heavily entertaining. And you kept reading. This blog makes a solid point. The Joplin Globe should cover Missouri Southern better.
We took the stance we did to point out the idiocy of the situation. The Daily Show makes a good living doing that. Our objective, like theirs, was SATIRE. We made fun of things using some outrageous methods to unearth a grain of truth.
We are glad you appreciate the effort and hope that diamond comes out your backside soon. Loosen up.
Your most recent post at Southern Watch couldn't have illustrated my point better. Thanks for that. Your post also reminded me that I should have added "narcissistic" and "thin-skinned" to my list of Southern Watch descriptors.
ReplyDeleteGive it up, Anonymous 9:55 am. If you are so smart and so sure of what needs to be done and how, why don't you start your own blog and then be the all-knowing, all-leather-elbow-tweed jacket, pipe-smoking, all-foolish faculty you must be...
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, Terry Agee, Debbie Dutch Kelly, Bruce, Dwight Douglas, and the rest of the stupid board of governors we have must be very happy and relieved these kids are giving it up. What a shame...