Local Blogs and the
of research.
Changing Media
By Lindsey Rivait
B
logs and their dedicated authors are shaping the new wave
of media and how we get our news in Windsor.
Blogs, or web logs, are websites composed of regularly updated
entries. These entries are usually commentaries on the world,
descriptions of events, or the presentation of graphics or video, and
are an alternative source for news and information. Unlike main-
stream media who report on issues, bloggers are able to do more
than report—they’re able to analyze.
Ed Arditti started his blog, WindsorCityBlog (http://windsorci-
tyon.blogspot.com), three years ago when the Windsor Star refused
to publish his guest column. His daughter suggested he publish it
online, and now Arditti posts anything Windsor-related that inter-
est him.
While the blog is not a fulltime venture for Arditti, he does admit
that it turned out to be more than he anticipated. It takes him about
an hour to an hour and a half to write an article after several hours
In addition to posting on his
blog, Arditti sends out a mail-
ing list which is distributed
through different public rela-
tions departments at various
organizations. “A public rela-
tions person will scan through
the media and send to their
executives all the stories that
are relevant to them,” Arditti
explained.
Arditti has big plans for his blog, with the goal of one day turning
it into an online newspaper featuring additional contributors.
Discussions are encouraged through comments section after each
blog post, something traditional media cannot offer. Readers, who
come across Windsor blogs through word-of-mouth or search
engines, play an integral part of a blog’s success. Many times read-
ers comment to raise an issue with Arditti, but it’s not something
they necessarily want published. “They will point out something or
say something is right or say something is wrong and ask me to
investigate it,” said Arditti.
Chris Holt started ScaleDown (http://www.scaledown.ca) in
June 2007 as an avenue for self-expression.
“As an auto worker, I didn’t have a lot of opportunity to express
my different opinions on the city and the inner-workings in the city
and the way we build our communities. I started it out as an outlet
for sharing these ideas with what I thought at the time was two or
three readers. It steadily grew from there,” said
Holt.
ScaleDown promotes cultural identity, social fab-
ric, and the economic prosperity of Windsor via
open discussions and grassroots advocacy.
Including Holt, the blog has four regular contribu-
tors who post about Windsor’s economy, independ-
ent retailers and manufacturers, as well as improv-
ing the liveability and walkability of the communi-
ty. “We tend to get people to care and understand a
little more about the municipal decisions being
made that affect them and really raise the dialogue
and educate people,” Holt said.
In addition to the blog aspect of the website,
ScaleDown offers audio and video content. Holt
would like to expand on the multimedia, and says
he’d like to see a ScaleDown TV in the future. “Not
a lot of people want to sit down and read. That’s
why we started ScaleDown radio,” said Holt.
ScaleDown Radio is archived on the site, a feature
Holt wants to implement for ScaleDown TV.
Holt and his fellow ScaleDown writers strive to
advance the dialogue on urban issues in Windsor.
“Blogs in Windsor are very important because there
tends to be a monopoly on different news organiza-
tions in Windsor. There’s one big daily newspaper, there’s one big
television show, there’s one big radio show. From the way I feel,
people believe there’s probably more out there,” explained Holt.
Blog - (weB LOG) A blog is basically a
Andrew Foot launched his site, International Metropolis journal that is available on the web. The
(http://internationalmetropolis.com), in June 2003, switching over activity of updating a blog is "blogging"
to a blog format in September 2005. Foot amassed a collection of and someone who keeps a blog is a
local postcards and began posting early scans of the city to his site. "blogger." Blogs are typically updated
“From there it spread to other related items, old brochures, news-
daily using software that allows people
paper advertisements, and current photographs,” Foot explained.
International Metropolis focuses on local architecture and history, with little or no technical background to
something Foot believes Windsorites should be more aware of. update and maintain the blog.
“Hopefully as awareness of our heritage grows, my readers can
help by becoming involved at the grassroots level, by keeping the Postings on a blog are almost always
pressure on the City and Council to do a better job than has been
arranged in chronological order with the
done in years past,” Foot explained.
International Metropolis has garnered a lot of positive feedback
most recent additions featured most
for Foot. “I love hearing from readers, as sometimes you forget prominently.
there are others out there reading the site. I will get emails with
questions, personal stories, and remembrances, and once in a while Matisse Enzer's
someone will send along some photos they would like to share and
Glossary of Internet Terms
they ask me to post them. The feedback is the most rewarding part
of the whole thing,” said Foot.
Foot’s readers range from current Windsor residents to ex- conversation,” said Foot, who hopes his readers come away from
Windsorites and readers in Toronto, the West Coast, and the UK. “A his blog with a deeper sense of appreciation for Windsor’s past and
blog is interactive, and without my regulars all I’ve got is a one way built heritage.

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 While it is common for blogs to feature advertising to generate
revenue for the blogger and the blog’s operating costs, it is not
always the case. Many times, blogs are a work of passion as they are
for Ed Arditti, Chris Holt, and Andrew Foot. Arditti and Holt do not
accept advertising on their sites, while Foot does generate some rev-
enue from ads, but not much.
“The revenue it generates for me, between the sponsored links
and the sale of my guidebook, Windsor Modern—Modern
Architecture in Windsor—1940-1970, it doesn’t even begin to cover
the money invested into the site to keep it running or to pay the
time I’ve invested into it,” Foot said.
Some Windsor bloggers have the reputation of being a “naysay-
er,” and receive criticism because of it.
“Everywhere outside of Windsor, blogs are a legitimate form of
news and entertainment. It’s only in the city of Windsor that we’ve
been labelled with the term ‘naysayers’ because we question a lot of
what’s going on. Everywhere else, it’s taken as a legitimate form of
communications,” said Holt.
Likewise, Arditti asserts his objective is to demonstrate Windsor’s
potential. “We’re not naysayers. We’re pointing out the things that
are wrong here and suggesting ways that they could be made bet-
ter,” said Arditti.
“I’m trying to show people that this area has terrific potential,
we’re just not capitalizing on it. We ought to be doing more. That to
me is the really sad part about what this city has. We have every-
thing, we’re just not taking advantage of it,” Arditti continued.
WALKER ROAD
16 IN BUSINESS November 2008
It’s not just locally that Windsor blogs are being noticed. The 2007
Canadian Blog Awards, an annual competition where Canadian
bloggers and blog readers vote on the best blogs, was full of
Windsor content. ScaleDown won third place in the “Best New
Blog” category, and International Metropolis was runner-up for
“Best Local Blog,” the first place winner of which was another
Windsor blog, WindsorEats.com.
Blogs are definitely changing the media by forcing mainstream
media to pay better attention to the community. As an example of
this, Foot points to the illegal demolition of the Seagrave Building
on Walker Road this past spring.
“I was in a meeting of the Windsor Heritage Committee where we
discussed the demolition that had started that morning on a
Wednesday. The media was at our meeting but didn’t do anything
with the story,” explained Foot.
The following day, Foot and other local bloggers ran stories about
the demolition, but there was still nothing in the newspaper. The
mainstream media waited until Friday, after they learned of a vigil
being held outside the Seagrave building, to report on it.
Holt believes the mainstream media will be struggling to keep up
with blogs. “I know the CBC, TVO, and the Windsor Star read it.
Guaranteed it’s not just for entertainment, it’s to expand their news
department or to get story ideas,” explained Holt.
Overall, these Windsor blogs strive to change the city for the bet-
ter, and to get its citizens educated and aware of what is going on
and what they can do.
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