Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Cole claims Bytelife space for Carbondale
In what some Council members are calling "a stunning overreach of power," Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole announced plans yesterday to shut down the Carbondale Bytelife.
"We're making way for progress," he said. "This so-called 'blog' has become little more than a platform for one loud-mouth to constantly remind us of his radio show. I'd rather have two more Sunset Motels than this digital stain on our community."
Former Carbondale activist Dick Gregory agreed with Cole, pointing to Carbondale's seeming inability to keep much of anything in business.
"It would only be a matter of time that the Carbondale Bytelife was going to go out of business," he said. "It's already well-known as a place for anonymous bums to drop in and urinate; why prolong the inevitable slide into obscurity?"
SIUC communications professor Bob Beeble said it could be years before Carbondale is able to produce its own Internet content again.
"We just haven't been able to crack that nut," Beeble said with a sigh. "By the time we got AOL to stop charging Carbondale's bank account every month, the rest of the world had moved on. Most folks around here still think MySpace is somewhere you can drive to-- it's practically hopeless."
"We're making way for progress," he said. "This so-called 'blog' has become little more than a platform for one loud-mouth to constantly remind us of his radio show. I'd rather have two more Sunset Motels than this digital stain on our community."
Former Carbondale activist Dick Gregory agreed with Cole, pointing to Carbondale's seeming inability to keep much of anything in business.
"It would only be a matter of time that the Carbondale Bytelife was going to go out of business," he said. "It's already well-known as a place for anonymous bums to drop in and urinate; why prolong the inevitable slide into obscurity?"
SIUC communications professor Bob Beeble said it could be years before Carbondale is able to produce its own Internet content again.
"We just haven't been able to crack that nut," Beeble said with a sigh. "By the time we got AOL to stop charging Carbondale's bank account every month, the rest of the world had moved on. Most folks around here still think MySpace is somewhere you can drive to-- it's practically hopeless."
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