Irrational Exuberance?

The soon-to-be-letdown Hugh Hewitt celebrates this post by Brian Lambert at The Rake which references this tidbit from Steve Perry's soon-to-be-launched Daily Mole (confused yet?):

As one Strib veteran tells the Mole, "The right-wing blog voices that were bashing the paper a couple of years ago, Hugh Hewitt and the rest, have gotten pretty much everything they wanted. The GOP wanted the Minnesota Poll gone, and now it's gone. They wanted to get rid of people like [editorial board members] Jim Boyd and Susan Albright and their editorial policy, and they've succeeded at that. Now there won't be editorials about the war and global warming; they'll write about local issues like zoning conflicts in Coon Rapids instead. They wanted the paper to hire a conservative columnist, and they got that. From here on out, it looks like the Strib becomes the conservative, suburbs-oriented paper, and the Pioneer Press will become the paper of the city underdogs and the blue voters. They may wind up getting pushed more to the left."

(The soon-to-be-wearing-a-dress Captain Ed also weighs in.)

My colleague Saint Paul has noted that a number of the more prominent names in the local liberal media have exited stage left in the last couple of years (some voluntarily, some not). While some have bemoaned the loss of such prime targets, most local conservatives have applauded the changes. However, it seems far too early to be declaring victory and the idea that we "have gotten pretty much everything we wanted" is ludicrous.

Personally, what I wanted was a local newspaper that delivered the relevant news in an objective manner, presented a broad range of views in the opinion pages, and showcased interesting material from talented writers. I also did not want my intelligence or values gratuitously insulted on a regular basis.

While some of the recent departures from the editorial board are likely to diminish the insult quotient and perhaps bring better balance to the opinion section, I haven't seen anything that would lead me to believe the Strib is going to address the other areas of concern. And even though her title as "Reader's Representative" seemed dubious at times, the fact that Kate Parry is moving into a new role and the Strib has no plans to replace her doesn't inspire confidence that the paper is committed to putting out a quality product.

The absence of some the more egregious left-wing bias does not mean the Strib has truly righted the ship.