Oconee County Observations Turns 20 With This, The 3,110th Post

***Largest Number Of Posts During COVID Year 2020***

Today marks the 20th anniversary of my first post to Oconee County Observations.

I posted only 15 stories in those final four months of 2006, and that number grew only to 26 in all of 2007.

I published more than 100 stories (119) for the first time in 2010 and have posted more than 100 stories every year since 2013.

The largest number of posts, 428, was in 2020, and most of those were daily reports on COVID cases in Oconee County and the surrounding area.

I posted 175 stories last year, and this is the 110th post this year.

That brings the total number of posts to Oconee County Observations over the last 20 years to 3,110.

Anticipating the 20-year milestone has led me to reflect on why I started the blog 20 years ago, what I have learned over those years, and why I keep doing it.

So the “observations” today are about the blog itself, about me, and about journalism as I practice it.

My History With Journalism

I decided to major in journalism in 1966 at the end of my freshman year at the University of Kentucky.

At My Computer 8/30/2026

I started writing for the student daily, The Kentucky Kernel, after taking my first journalism class as a sophomore, and I went on to be Editor-in-Chief of the paper in my senior years, 1968-1969.

I worked for The Kentucky Post, an edition of The Cincinnati Post, and for The Wichita Eagle-Beacon during my summers, and at The Lexington Herald-Leader during my junior year at UK. Upon graduation in 1969, I began working for The Cincinnati Enquirer.

When I began my graduate studies–also at the University of Kentucky–it was with the intent to use a master’s degree as a stepping stone to a new position in journalism. In fact, I had an opportunity to do just that.

But I realized when I returned to Lexington and the University of Kentucky that I loved the university, and I also was taken with the social science field of communication. So when I had an opportunity to move to a doctoral program at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, I chose that option.

I decided to study journalism and its consequences rather than continue to practice journalism.

I had a very successful academic career that included a three-year stint at Syracuse University, followed by 20 years at the Ohio State University, and 20 years at the University of Georgia.

I published several scholarly books and numerous journal articles, presented scientific papers at conferences all over the world, had two Fulbright scholarships in Germany, and was recognized for my work by several scholarly associations.

During my 20 years at the University of Georgia, I ran an international journalism research and training center.

Perhaps the recognition I am most proud of us is the awarding of a Doctor Honoris Causa by the Senate of the National University of Political Studies and Public Administration in Bucharest, Romania, in December of 2012.

Origins Of Oconee County Observations

I taught basic journalism classes throughout my career, and I stayed in close contact with journalism practice and with journalists through my research and through my running of the international research and training center at the University of Georgia.

In the late summer of 2006, with the new opportunities for independent journalism provided by the Internet, I decided to launch Oconee County Observations.

I labeled the blog “News and comments about developments in Oconee County, Georgia.” I’ve kept that description ever since.

Those early posts in 2006 were more commentary than simple reporting.

I think I found my footing in 2008, when I shifted more to observations, that is, simple reporting.

I realized that I could reach more people if I focused on observations than if I offered comment. 

Starting The Blog

I started this blog for a number of reasons.

I thought the blog was an opportunity for me to teach myself some new skills that I could share with my students and with the journalists I interacted with in my international work.

I also thought I could expand my study of journalism practice by participating in it.

And I felt I could contribute through my journalism to the community in which I lived.

The number of journalists working in Oconee County was declining, and I felt I could help fill some of the void created by those losses.

I’d spent an academic career conducting survey research, working with large data files gathered by governments and other organizations, carrying out evaluation research projects, and observing the work of journalists and journalistic organizations.

I realized I could bring those skills and that knowledge to my reporting.

I also had gained a more critical perspective on journalism and its limitations, which I felt would make my reporting of greater value.

Different Type Of Reporting

The reporting on this blog has some defining characteristics.

I refer to this as a news blog when I talk to other people about it. I see it as an electronic newsletter, in the old newsletter tradition of journalism.

I rely heavily on documents, focus on things I can observe myself, such as at meetings, and spend little time with stories based entirely on interviews.

I detest “she said/he said stories.” I don’t think they get us very far, because they leave the false impression that everything is balanced and open to contradictory interpretations. I don’t do them.

I also don’t feel any obligation to ask someone to comment on things I report based on observation and documents before I report it. I accept comments on the blog after publication, provided the person signs the comment with a real, full name. I respond to those comments only if they ask for additional information or clarification of something in the post.

I see my reporting as social science.

I present the data–what I have observed–and let others have an equal shot at interpreting those data.

I often get criticism from people for not following those observations with interpretation. Usually, it is something like: “You don’t connect the dots.”

I accept the criticism. I am comfortable with reporting the data and stopping there.

Use Of Video Camera

Small, cheap video recorders were on the market 20 years ago when I started the blog, and I saw these as a helpful tool.

With My Camera At Oconee County
Commission Meeting 8/4/2026

I began recording what I observed as a way of getting good notes and of having a video record for myself of what I observed.

I have experimented over time with how to use these video materials on the blog.

Fairly early on I subscribed to Vimeo and began uploading parts of the video recordings to that site. I also occasionally uploaded files to YouTube.

Over time, I started uploading the full, unedited video to my Vimeo channel.

A very helpful reader said to me at one point: “I never watch those videos. But I know that you are not stupid, and you would not put something in your summary that isn’t in that video.”

So I understood that the video is a document, or a data report, and the video allows others to see the data I am using in making my summary.

Journalism As Narrative

Journalists like to say: “I just report the facts.”

That hides the active role that journalists play in telling the “news story.”

A journalistic account is a narrative, not a transcription.

When I attend a meeting, for example, I don’t come home and try to recreate the minutes of the meeting.

I try to single out the things that happen that I think are most important. So I’m making a judgment. I might judge something that happened at the beginning to be most important. I might select something that happened at the end as most important.

In making the judgment about what is important, I always think about what others who attended the meeting might also see as important–what might stand out for them.

But I also know that I bring my own history and insights to this judgment. I have been attending meetings in the county from shortly after I moved here in 1997 and writing about those meeting for more than 20 years. I know I see patterns and connections that others might not.

So the unedited video report I put at the end of my post gives the reader the chance to reach an independent assessment of what was important about the things I cover.

As of today, there are 1,485 videos on Vimeo linked to this blog, and a few additional ones on YouTube.

Transparency Regarding Methods

One of the conventions of scientific research is that the researcher is expected to be transparent about methodology, that is, about the way the researcher gathered the data.

I have brought that convention to my reporting. My goals is to explain in detail how I know what I know.

I report email exchanges, link to documents, link to, and often embed, videos from other sites, and show tables and charts I have created to simplify data.

I created a statement of “My Standards for Oconee County Observations” that I put in the right-hand column of the web site early on that explains that commitment to transparency and use of documents.

“I strive to be accurate, fair and transparent,” the statement reads. “I want to reflect events and discussions, using links to document what is known.”

“I'm a citizen of Oconee County,” I state. “My experiences and aspirations for the county have influence on what I post here.”

“I want to offer a balanced presentation that recognizes different points of view and portrays the people involved with respect,” I wrote in that statement.

Citizen Of County

As I have analyzed my coverage, often in comparison with the coverage of the county by other journalists working here, I have become very aware of how my own perspective as a nearly 30-year resident of the county influences my assessment of issues in the county.

From Web Page

I live off Daniells Bridge Road and along Barber Creek.

What happens to Barber Creek is important to me, and I write about water and sewer projects in the county when others might ignore them. That first blog post on Sept. 1, 2006, was about Barber Creek.

I travel on SR 316 frequently, so anything that happens on that road affects me. I write about SR 316 frequently.

I am the only journalist who attends and writes about MACORTS, the federally mandated regional oversight body for road projects in Clarke, Madison, and Oconee counties that receive federal monies.

I almost always am the only journalist at meetings of the Hard Labor Creek Regional Reservoir Management Board. Oconee and Walton counties jointly built and manage that reservoir.

I frequently also am the only journalist at other meetings in the county, including of the Industrial Development Authority, the Board of Elections and Registration, and the Library Board.

I judge these meetings to be important in part because they affect me.

This is consistent with research I did with a colleague and our graduate students showing that the connections a journalist has with her or his community greatly influence the stories the journalist writes.

I also am the only journalist who attends the meetings of the Oconee County Democratic Party and of the Oconee County Republican Party, reflecting my view that these are important organizations. What happens at these meetings often is played out subsequently in government activity.

The Republican Party is the only group I cover that refuses to allow me to make either video or audio recordings of its meeting. That was not the case under previous party leadership.

Bias Toward Citizen Comment

Another bias I have is in favor of citizen comment, particularly at meetings.

The scientific literature on news construction, that is, on how things become news, documents a different bias.

Journalists often treat citizen comment as an unimportant part of meetings, with reports focusing instead on what the “official” sources say.

A classic study of journalists at meetings noted that the journalists observed put down their pencils and turned their attention elsewhere when citizens came to the podium to speak during public meetings.

I have observed this myself in the county when I attended public meetings before I started the blog. One journalist told me that he ignored citizens because they had a point of view and quoted instead the official sources because they were unbiased.

I often lead my stories of Board of Commissioners and Board of Education meetings with the comments that citizens made at those meetings.

I feel pretty confident in saying that everyone who speaks at those meetings has a point of view, as do the commissioners and school board members, and I try to treat the citizens as equal to the government leaders in terms of the attention their comments deserve.

Use Of Quotes

I have changed how I use the quotes of citizens and sources over the time I’ve been writing this blog.

First Post 9/1/2006

Journalists often paraphrase when they quote sources, to make the quote simpler, clearer, and more articulate than what the speaker actually said.

Journalists call that paraphrase an indirect quote and designate it as such by not using quotation marks.

A direct quote, in contrast, is put in quotation marks.

About 10 years ago an important source criticized my paraphrases, telling me “that is not what I said.”

I decided to solve the problem by using whatever the source sent to me in an email messages exactly as the source sent to me, even if it was contorted.

I have extended that practice more generally since that time, trying to quote exactly what people say, exactly as they say it.

When I record and upload a video to Vimeo, or when a video appears on YouTube, it is possible to get a transcription.

This has allowed me to quote extensively in the exact words used by the speaker.

I’ve come to see this as a way of making the quote authentic, and, for that reason, as a way of bringing the reader even closer to what actually happened at the meeting or event.

Broken sentences and small grammatical errors are simply a part of real speech.

Reaction From Traditional Media

From the very beginning, I decided to make whatever I posted on the blog available without compensation to anyone else who wanted to use it.

All I asked was that I be given credit as the source of the story, with a link to the original story on my blog.

Some news outlets–flagpole was a notable example–have used stories I wrote about the county on occasion almost from the start.

The Oconee Enterprise for many years treated me as competition. It wouldn’t even use the name of the blog in the paper.

That changed several years ago, and the Enterprise now uses stories I write with attribution to Oconee County Observations.

I often don’t know what stories the editor will use until after the paper is published.

I’m very happy with these relationships, since they extends the reach of my reporting.

Techniques And Tools

I began Oconee County Observations on Blogger, and I’ve stayed with that platform for the past 20 years.

With Doctor Honoris
Causa Award
12/4/2012

Alternatives exist, but each time I’ve assessed them, I’ve concluded that Blogger suits what I do best.

I started with a traditional listserv, and my strategy from the beginning was to write a short summary of the full story, usually about eight paragraphs in length, and then ask readers to go to Blogger for the full story.

I moved my listserv to Mailchimp several years ago, and I send out my summary on that platform, usually in the evening (or early morning), with the request that the reader go to Blogger for the full story.

I also post a headline from the post with a picture or other graphic to Facebook, X, and BlueSky once I have sent out the Mailchimp summary. I provide a link to the full story in those posts.

Audience Response

I made the decision 20 years ago not to try to monetize the blog. I don’t allow advertising on the web site. I chose Vimeo over YouTube to avoid advertising.

I do have expenses. The Vimeo subscription alone costs $395 a year, and I will have to either remove videos or pay more for more storage sometime soon.

I also pay for use of Mailchimp, software subscriptions I only use for the blog, video and audio recording equipment, and the gas for my car, among other things.

I’m very fortunate to be able to afford these things and feel that I can absorb the costs to sustain my “journalistic hobby.”

But there is payback for what I do, and it is readers. Only some people who write do it entirely for themselves, and I’m not one of them.

As I write this post, I have 1,134 subscribers to my Mailchimp feed. Ninety-two follow the posts on blogger itself. Some untold number receive the blog from Follow.it.

I have always been most interested in the number of people who come to Oconee County Observations to read the full story, and that number varies widely.

I’m pretty sure fewer than 30 people came to read that initial post on Sept. 1, 2006.

The story I posted on July 6 of this year about an update to SR 316 construction had 2,743 visitors, and a story on July 27 about a Planning Commission meeting had 2,745 visitors.

More typical is the story on Aug. 5 about a Board of Commissioners meeting, with 678 visitors, and on Aug. 14 about the Board of Education setting the millage rate, with 437 visitors.

Political stories usually get the fewest visitors, with an Aug. 21 story on campaign finances having 326 visitors.

Limitations On What I Do

From the very beginning, I was aware of how badly I need an editor.

A good editor would not only catch all of the typos and other silly errors I make and miss, but a good editor would tell me when what I have written makes too many assumptions about what the reader knows, has left out key facts or explanations, or simply is so contorted that no one will understand it.

I don’t have an editor, so I’m so very happy when a reader catches an error and lets me know about it. I make those corrections as soon as I can. I’ve been bailed out by a reader many, many, many times over the last 20 years.

I’m also limited by my video and other equipment and by my ability to make skilled use of them. Audio is often a big problem, and some of the solutions would require equipment I don’t have and am unwilling to purchase.

My biggest frustration, other than the lack of an editor, however is with my own time.

I often am the only person at Planning Commission meetings, but I have missed many recently because they overlap with other meetings being held at the same time.

I’ve missed the last several Library Board meetings as well.

I would like to be able to attend and write about Watkinsville Council meetings, as well as the government meetings in Bogart, New High Shoals, and Bishop. Relatively small numbers of people live inside the borders of these cities, but what these governments do often has impact beyond those borders. Unfortunately, I attend these meetings only irregularly.

I also am not able to cover regularly county meetings that are important, such as of the Keep Oconee County Beautiful Commission, the Animal Services Advisory Board, the Recreation Advisory Committee, the Tourism and Visitors Bureau, and the Farmland Preservation Committee.

Help From My Friends

I have benefitted immensely over the years from help from people who have volunteered to video or audio record meetings for me.

Talking With Oconee County Commission
Chair John Daniell After Commission Meeting
8/25/2026

Penny Mills, the late Sarah Bell, and the late Russ Page did this often for me.

Sarah and Penny were particularly helpful in the first half of 2018 when I had to move to Atlanta for a stem cell transplant. They recorded meetings for me, allowing me to keep the blog alive before, during, and after my stay in the hospital.

Many others have helped over the years, including Phillip Ashford, Harold Thompson, Doug Elsted, Katie Vickery, to name just a few.

I also want to note that, with very, very few exceptions, government and other sources in the county have been extremely helpful to me.

They have taken me and this blog very seriously, and I am most appreciative of that.

During COVID, when I could not leave the house because I was seriously immune compromised, Jennifer Stone, assistant director of the Oconee County Elections and Registration Office, even used my camera and tripod to record meetings of the Election Board for me.

I am greatly indebted.

Where From Here?

When I retired from the University of Georgia in 2017, I expected to continue with a part of my research program, but my blood cancer and its successful treatment, followed by COVID, made that impractical.

The result is that Oconee County Observations has sustained me in retirement by keeping me busy and keeping me involved in the community.

I just turned 78. In simple terms, this blog keeps me physically and mentally active and challenged. Writing and reporting are for me like working a jig saw puzzle. I enjoy the writing and reporting, and, on occasion, also jig saw puzzles.

What I also have realized, particularly as I reflected on the 20-year run of the blog, is that Oconee County Observations has given me the opportunity to do the kind of journalism I always wanted to do, but that I set aside to pursue my rewarding and wonderful academic career.

I am hopeful I can continue to find an audience that wants to read what I write, and I’m most appreciative of everyone of you who does just that.

I also am exploring new ways to expand the reach of Oconee County Observations.

Near the end of my academic career, I did a number of research projects with the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, based in Dayton, Ohio. The Foundation “works to inspire and connect individuals and organizations to advance thriving and inclusive democracies around the globe.”

My work with Kettering focused on the role of journalism in a community and a democracy.

I have come to see journalism as an act of citizenship. As such, it is open to everyone in a community. And a community needs an active, communicating citizenry to sustain democracy.

I’m glad that 20 years ago today, I published my first post on Oconee County Observations.

I hope that my journalism–my act of citizenship--has contributed at least a little bit to the civic and democratic health of Oconee County.