Colonel Corn's Retreat

One of the few things most push-button publishers can agree upon is this: Don't blog about work. It's sound advice for sure, but as a TV news photogra-blogger, it's virtually impossible. I blame beFrank. Since May of 2004, the L.A. news shooter has filed ceaseless reports from his many twisted gigs - proving you could blog about The Job without finding yourself shaking a tin cup full of chewed pencils down by the bus station. Inspired by his continuous Zen, many a TV geek launched their own sites - including Yours Truly. Soon the blogosphere was crackling with off-camera voices: many wry, some goofy and one or two that were completely unhinged. Individual afflictions aside, all sought to share what it was like to trudge through life with a deadline and a lens - all without cheesing off the boss in the process.

I always thought Ken Corn pulled that off particularly well. Unlike, say - yours truly - his sober accounts of the televised chase never delved too far into industry critique. Mostly, his weekly missives centered around his journeyman's pursuit of fairness in a business that's f-a-r from balanced. What could be offensive about that? Well, apparently something, for the good Colonel has shuttered his site without so much as a parting shot. Troubling, indeed. Details are sketchy, but after considerable counsel with the Charlotte shooter, I've come away convinced he's serious about this early retirement. Personally, that's a real drag - for I always learned from and enjoyed his weekly work. 'Tis a shame he feels so pressured to quit blogging - regardless of whatever bloated ego he apparently poked.

Our only solace is the hope he'll someday return. After all, Ken's a writer to the core. I'm sure he'll find a new muse before even he knows it. This time though, perhaps he'll pick safer subject matter, like whose religion is better or the exact location of our nation's nuclear football. Sheesh...