Valley PR Blog

Talton Responds to your comments

By Dan Wool on January 29th, 2008 In Media

Former Republic columnist Jon Talton has moved on — or has he? There seems to be some debate on Linda VandeVrede’s post yesterday, to which Talton responded:

I don’t mean to sound bitter. I do tell it like it is. For nearly seven years, I had one of the best jobs in journalism, and in my hometown. I’m grateful for that, and for all the friends I made going back to Phoenix.

I also had to weather tons of threats and nastiness — fine, that come with the job — and the sadness that Phoenix had lost so much of its soul. Now that can be said of many places, but unlike the most successful of them, it hasn’t replaced the loss with new, great assets.

Honestly, I doubt I could have made a living there. But it is true that I wanted to move to a place that was more my style. So, happy endings all around.

I wish Phoenicians could grow up enough to understand that an honest critique of their city is not “negative” or “bitter,” and thus to be ignored. Phoenix will never be a Seattle, but it can’t keep going down its current path without consequences.

Comments

An honest critique is a balanced one. Talton never realized that. His Republic columns always exaggerated the negative and downplayed the positive. Now, like a ghost rattling his chains in the attic, he continues to haunt the city he left behind. I’m plenty grown up, but I see the good in Phoenix every single day while acknowledging those things that need improving.

It’s disappointing that Talton is unable to move on and equally disappointing that Phoenix-based blogs like this one continue to give him a platform. Interviewing him was bad enough, but now his reply merits a separate post?

First of all David, thanks for your comments.

Whether it’s Talton or anyone, when a post here gets a lot of interesting comments or really sparks a conversation - we generally will highlight them in a separate post. Particularly, since we have five active bloggers who generate heavy post volume.

So we’re not trying to lionize Talton; we’d do it for anyone and are happy to give any person associated with PR, media or related disciplines a platform here.

I’d like to chime in with a note that Jon certainly could have made a living as a freelancer here in Phoenix, had he chosen to stay. First of all - there is absolutely work to be had here - I should know. I’ve been making a living at it (albeit not a glamorous, gilt-edged one) for nearly three years now. Secondly, it’s a digital world. You can darn well write for anyone on the planet from here, and there are plenty of editors who are looking for voices from the Southwest. A long way to get around to saying Jon Talton’s perspective on the regional economy and development were important when he was here, and would have been valuable as this region continues to evolve.

Have to agree with David. The Arizona Republic had a story in the northeast Phoenix section Jan. 28 about how living in northeast Phoenix, which has two world-class resorts, is like living in paradise!

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