Once a long time ago I was a daily newspaper reporter. I became familiar with every slight, every affront, every faux pas the average tainted person or politician or municipal employee and hot air bag could commit against my employer and me, the writer. Bad people hate it when you report the truth… when you accurately capture what they actually say and do.

Disclaimer: people hate it, too, when a reporter fabricates stuff, gets it wrong, misunderstands things, adds his or her bias, and/or writes from a hidden agenda. Complaints about this sort of stuff are legitimate. Complaints about writing that puts the subject in a bad light over things the subject actually said or did– well, that's not debatable, alterable, or negotiable.

This post, on a favorite blog of mine, written by Rich in Nevada, explains this in greater detail. It's about bloggers sometimes being asked by tone deaf corporate types and their PR dirty workers to take posts down. New era, same old corporate arrogance from some. The point: don't ask. I can tell you it ain't happening. By the way, roam around Rich's blog… it's a good one.

To his thoughts I wish to add the following: in my experience, the blogosphere is a comparatively tame place versus newspapers. Most bloggers seem reluctant to name names when offended, affronted, marginalized or manipulated by mainstream corporations, their agencies or the media. My theory is that this reluctance by bloggers stems from the fact that most of us work alone with no one else within earshot with which to compare notes. In a mainstream media newsroom, in contrast, lots of experienced heads talk out loud, decide together, and usually they agree to name names.

The blogosphere will get there if corporations and their agencies continue to show an inability to understand this and to adapt. You can ask for a correction, a clarification. You can't ask for an undo… not without great peril.

Peril? Yes, because I have worse news for those who would believe they have this kind of influence. When good reporters meet resistance, they push ahead harder. Resistance is usually a sign they've hit a nerve. Hit a nerve and find a goldmine of news. Write more, more often, more aggressively.

Which brings us full circle to the headline on this post. Sure, posts that go up can come down. And to be honest, I'm more than a little upset no one has asked me to deep six a story. But if and when they do, I'm fairly sure the offensive item isn't coming down. Many, many more posts just like will probably be going up, up, up.

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