Online portfolio of Colleen J. Miller; a journalist, editor and much more.

My dad sent me this article, “The 545 people responsible for all of U.S. woes” by Charley Reese, which originally ran in the Orlando Sentinel Star.

I’ve been hearing some talk about how we need to basically empty out Congress and start fresh. While I can see how that could destroy the institutional memory, it won’t. But if it does, it would be a good thing. What I mean is that it’s the same hundreds of thousands of employees on Capitol Hill carrying the weight of our members of Congress.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 235 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility

What will it take for our incumbent reelection rate to dip below 90 percent in the House? The Senate is a little better, but senators’ reelection rates only vary between 79 and 96 percent in the last decade.

Our major problem is that the average American just doesn’t have the time to think about candidates who are off in Washington, D.C., during most of their term dealing with things that we don’t think impact our daily lives. Most of us don’t even have time to do things that will make our own measly little daily grind easier because doing so takes up too much time.

That’s why people need to demand more from their community newspapers. Tell them that you want to see voter guides, not just straight news about who has a new advertising campaign. But you also need to support your local newspapers by contributing to that dialogue (not just commenting death threats and snark on stories posted online). You also need to encourage businesses who still choose to advertise and support a free press.

And of course, you need to place some of that responsibility on yourself. You can start by looking at a sample ballot on Michigan.gov so you’re prepared for the primary election on Tuesday, Aug. 3.

While I can’t ignore the fact that free classifieds online have momentarily crippled the newspaper industry I’m trying to make a living from, I must also give props to eBay for introducing their version of Craigslist.

EBay classifieds was introduced just recently, sending e-mails to traditional eBay customers about its newest feature. It’s a much needed improvement upon the once innovative, yet currently stale, concept of Craigslist. EBay’s user interface is so much more polished, for both seller and buyer, that it has already made the switch a no-brainer.

Notable features include eBay’s “visits” tally, no login required (access your listing via a link sent to your e-mail), and the ability to import items that didn’t sell in an eBay auction to the classifieds section. Like Craigslist, eBay Classifieds is free and totally up to the buyer and seller to connect. But of course, eBay is just much more pleasant to look at and navigate than a page full of text.

Downsides? While eBay says it has put in more safety features to prevent spamming, you’re still subject to receive e-mails from people claiming to be interested in your product to get you to go to their insurance quote website. Anybody bored? E-mail this guy at blakebrazil08@hotmail.com and ask him to do you a favor. Also, like anywhere you go these days, you’re subject to poor spelling, grammar and punctuation.

EBay Classifieds is a much needed improvement to a movement that changed the way we do private business. I wish them the best of luck and hope they can find a way to make money off it without getting greedy.

As a journalist, I could be bitter about the whole transformation of the revenue model for newspapers, which Craigslist is largely responsible for. But I’m not. I see the poeticism in it. We can’t be resentful because somebody else found a better way to do things. Nobody has dibs on classifieds.

Everybody has their short list of defining interests: things that have shaped their ideology, lifestyle and their world in general.

Like the Alan Jackson song “Everything I love is killing me,” I feel like my defining interests are somewhere between taboo and controversial. Except my vices aren’t just “cigarettes, Jack Daniel’s and caffeine” and they give me more purpose to life as opposed to draining it out. Although, I do enjoy an occasional cigarette, a glass of whiskey, and my daily dose of caffeine.

My defining interests seem to always be called under question by all the “normal” people of the world who  enjoy putting down country music; throwing away money on greeting cards; and commenting on news articles about how guns are scary and it’s a shame we feel we need them in today’s society.

1. Country Music – Get your chuckles out now people. ‘Ha ha, country music is for the weak minded who can only process thoughts and emotions about love, dogs and country music itself.’ It’s not that I don’t enjoy other genres, I do. I just grew up listening to steel guitars; singing about not having much except our love, our dogs and our country music. I noticed that some of the best country songs are about country music and how it soothes the soul. I wonder why we feel this need to constantly defend our simple, pure lifestyle. (Prime example: Trace Adkins’ Songs About Me.) After all, country music is like the No. 1 market in the U.S.
   

   "If that ain't country, it's a damn good joke" - David Allan Coe

2. Being Thrifty/Cheap/Tight Wad/Hate Wasting Stuff/Buying Junk – I am by no means one of those people who has a ton of cash because I never spend it. I just never spend cash because I never have it. And so some of these expected cultural norms that involve wasting money on junk that people throw out anyway are so frustrating: wrapping paper, greeting  cards, tchotcke gifts for the sake of a gift (cheap, plastic toys!). The epitome of this trait of mine shines at birthdays and other gift-giving celebrations. I wrap baby shower gifts in newspaper. I sign greeting cards “From your favorite cousins (use this next year for us).” Luckily, this eco-conscious trend is lending itself toward my image. No longer am I the equivalent of the bag lady, I am the innovative mind in the family’s “green couple.” Still, why do I feel like I’m getting the stink eye when I roll a grocery cart full of empties into the recycle center?
3. Guns, ammo, guns, hunting, guns, Second Amendment, guns – I like guns. I like only having to buy meat when I feel like pork chops. I like knowing I could blow somebody away who tries to rape me in my house. I like knowing that if the Sun swallows Venus and the civil society no longer exists (see Hurricane Katrina) I can hold my ground and protect my family, my food and my home. I like knowing that when I’m walking through the woods (or Pontiac, Michigan) I can defend myself against attackers. I like that Michigan law recognizes my right to do these things, and that arguably, so does the U.S. Constitution. I don’t like when the news reports on municipalities changing the laws they have no jurisdiction to create so that they match up with the state, people turn it into a political debate about how they wish we didn’t have to worry about “Wild, Wild West” characters hanging out in our parks with us. Because clearly, the reasons why I stated I like guns above are all examples that can easily fit into an image of saloon doors swinging open and Wyatt Earp coming ’round the edge of town.
   

   I like having a freezer full of fresh, natural meat. Not farm-raised, junk-fed cattle or chicken.

Freelancing for a hyper-local news site that’s run by a well-known Democratic activist has taught me a lot about the relationship between media and politics. I’m sure it’s outside of the realm of discussion topics in the class of the same name at Oakland University. Here’s my little journalism/political science lesson for today.

1. Thank you, Theresa Mungioli, for turning me off to any personal involvement in a party-affiliated group. I’ll be sure to keep your outright refusal to have me at tonight’s event tabulated somewhere for future reference. Mungioli is president of the Rochester Women’s Republican Club, and I would have genuinely enjoyed getting to know Republican candidates for office, personally and professionally. Just because I write for a Democratic doesn’t mean that I can’t give an unbiased report. Come on, I was named “most likely to out-do your gun collection” by my peers at The Oakland Post. I have a proven track record of removing any personal beliefs from news articles. But I was shut out because I wasn’t seen as a journalist, simply because of who gave me the assignment. Sending me to this event was my editor’s attempt to be balanced, but it’s really hard to promote Democratic and Republican candidates when the latter apparently does not want to be represented.
2. I don’t know what the latest study reveals about the least trustworthy professions, but I’m pretty sure politicians and journalists have been fighting for top honors for some time now. Well, I get that now, considering journalists are the last people to trust politicians and politicians do not trust journalists … especially those who do not work for the “legitimate” media.
3. That little event the Republicans had tonight, I’d be shocked if any other media source were even faintly interested in it. Hell, The Oakland Press only copy pasted the press release previewing it, then tacked on “from staff reports” at the end to fill a copy block. I will certainly retract my statements if I see evidence of any other news source willing to pay a journalist to cover that event.
4. Reputation means a lot. Obviously. Well, I have a reputation of telling it how it is. Sometimes people listen. Am I the only one who sees the vicious cycle? People are just going to have to accept the fact that GOD FORBID a blogger or a person who writes for a leaning news organization (they all lean, thank you) are the portal for publicity. Otherwise, I hope you have great Twitter marketing skills because that’s the only way you’re going to be able to reach new people.

At the risk of ruining a journalism/communications career before it officially begins, I’ll keep this vague. At the risk of self-censorship in a blog that is intended to be honest about the journalism field, I’ll write this anyway.

When the name Colleen Miller and Rochester Hills (my current hometown) is searched, I dominate the results. Work done for The Oakland Post, The Oakland Press, The Rochester Citizen, Detroit Metromix (Free Press entity), my Linked In account, all fill the first two pages.

I take at least partial credit for taking down Oakland University’s “You can afford this” billboards as well as a scheduled “vote of no confidence.” I got stairs fixed. I exposed a need for MIP amnesty by organizing a poll and putting together the results. I’ve been told by a stranger and industry professional that my editorials have “balls.” I’ve griped about things that will likely need more griping about before they change. But I’d like to think that so far, I’ve been an effective watchdog journalist.

I have personally met with top officials from Oakland University, I have been personally thanked by the president of OU for my work, and shown around Rochester Hills by Mayor Barnett. I’d like to think that gives me a little bit of legitimacy.

It hasn’t even been a week since I graduated from OU. I’m applying to dozens of news and other organizations. I’m freelancing online for news and non-news organizations. I’m trying not to drown in debt, like any good American.

One of the places I’m freelancing is a hyper-local news site. The conditions, I acknowledge, aren’t ideal for establishing a news presence that is undoubtedly unbiased. The publisher doesn’t hide his political affiliations. What’s weirder is that personally, I’m probably on the complete opposite end of the ideology scale. But I don’t think that should matter when we have a common goal to report on local government, businesses and events.

What’s disturbing is that a member of a local city council was quoted in a news story in apparently one of the “legitimate” news outlets saying that anybody who writes for this publication shouldn’t be confused as a member of the legitimate media.

Now this is where I had paused for a few weeks, biting my tongue and thinking about what my thoughts were on this. Of course I don’t want to have my reputation tarnished. But then again, journalism isn’t exactly the fashion industry. It’s not, as Heidi Klum would say, “one day you’re in, the next day you’re out.” Every day somebody else is “out” of this industry. But not to the extreme as a Stephen Glass or anything. Journalists are just plain out, on their ass, looking for a way to continue keeping an eye on elected officials and the like. You know, in case they decide to try and tell us who can and cannot be considered legitimate.

I’m sorry if I, and every other struggling or entrepreneurial journalist, do not fill the bill of a “legitimate” news person. I left my legitimacy in my car, with a little bit of my pride and the only 20 cents to my name, so I could cover this boring ass meeting for the people.

I wish I did have a big name news agency after my name when I call sources, but you know what, the industry is an old, tall pine that just can’t sway with the wind. These papers and stations are hiring here and there, but they cannot handle the demand for news coverage. And they certainly can’t handle the demand for paying journalism jobs. So sue me – or defame me, whatever your poison – for being a part of something that is trying to find a solution to this mess.

Long live the seedling journos.