Jeff Beckham

Statesman.com continues to add to its lineup of bloggers. The latest additions are Backspin, where sportswriter Kevin Robbins “takes dead aim at the Austin golf scene and the topography of the game throughout Texas”, and Seeing Things, where arts critic Jeanne Claire van Ryzin writes about art and architecture.

It’s good to see the local paper continue to grow in this area. It appears they’re up to 16 different writers now. However, the list is divided into “Statesman Blogs” and Austin360 Blogs”, and frankly, I don’t see the difference.

Also, as near as I can tell, the highest-ranking employee at the Statesman who writes a regular blog is XL Editor Michael Barnes at Out & About. I’d like to see more from the department heads, and I would especially like to see editor Rich Oppel and managing editor Fred Zipp revive their Rich & Fred blog to help give voice to the paper’s leadership. C’mon guys, it’s not too late to return. We’ll welcome you back.