When Phil Riggan left the Times-Dispatch during the economic exodus that visited Richmond's daily paper over the winter, I suspect he didn't anticipate landing a gig as WWBT-NBC12's executive producer of new media.
Even an executive producer sometimes finds its hard to quit writing. Riggan's working on a series of online exclusives on Richmond's curious world of blogging. When I told someone that Buttermilk & Molasses was first on deck, they commented that it was because I was the "grandfather" of Richmond blogging. I think I'd rather be the elder statesman, but that may require French cuffs and a goatee.
Riggan's first piece has hit the NBC12 website, and I actually managed to say something fairly lucid during the hour-long interview Riggan subjected me to at my office two weeks ago:
"I think what also has happened with the rise of weblogs in Richmond is they've kind of shown light into all of the shadows so you kind of see where all the gaps are," he said.
Sarvay admits that with a blog, he can be focused on one topic for weeks on end, where major media has to gather all the daily news.
He also had a role in the development of the community news blogging sites. He said took a cue from John Murden of the Church Hill People's News blog and helped create and run the North Richmond News community blog for a couple of years.
People wanted more updates than just once a month with paper newsletters. He felt he had to be consistent with posting news, and made the choice to be impartial.
"I posted information about events, about news, about activities but I didn't editorialize," Sarvay said. "I tried very hard not to put my two cents into a story."
Obviously, that's not the case with Buttermillk & Molasses.
