Jim Romenesko's column for the Poynter Institute's homepage is, for the most part, the only reason to visit the site. Built for journalists, Romenesko's link tidbits are the talking points that keep industry chatter flowing. But after a redesign of Poynter's site, Jim & Co. find themselves subjected to more backlash than usual. Is Romenesko just a dumping ground for he-said-she-said arguments and Sophie's Choice news about layoffs?

He's been criticized, bizarrely, for continuing to post the overwhelmingly bad news that spews forth from journalistic quarters. Blogger Justin McLachlan noted a “backlash against the industry-wide death rattles he seems fond of publishing.” He concluded that the younger generation of journalists were turning away from the site. And he railed against Romenesko for not offering some solutions himself: “The news business is collapsing around us, mostly because people like Romenesko sit around wringing their hands and lamenting what was instead of innovating the way we do our jobs and the products we create.”

To which Jim responds:

Some days are depressing. There was one day in particular that it seemed all I was doing was posting about layoffs, budget cuts and buyouts, and so on. But I think I have to do that. I can’t ignore it when a newsroom shrinks by 25%. I can’t look away. Some readers complain that it’s all gloom and doom. I read on Twitter that some people are boycotting my site because they say it’s too negative. … Of course Twitter allows only 140 characters, but the sense I get is that they don’t want to read the negative. People will post my link and say, "Warning, it’s a Romenesko link, enter at your own risk." But you know, it's a historic time in the business and I think I have to document it.

For the record, Romenesko's site currently includes only one link using the word "layoffs," and the only story about a "job loss" is about former LAT editorial page editor Andres Martinez suing his ex-girlfriend for ruining his reputation.

[LAT]