NAM’s blog is demonstrating the role an association blog can play in a public debate. Earlier, Pat Cleary let his opinion be known on a CNN report on manufacturing:

"Did anyone see ‘CNN Presents: Company Town’ last night? Anchored by Aaron Brown and produced by Emily Probst, it was a fairly one-sided and gloomy account of manufacturing and our purported decline. It was actually a strange hour-long program in that it had no voice over, just an occasional black screen with an ominous text message, with more hand-wringing, more crepe-hanging. Amidst the innuendo in this meandering tale, there was some ersatz expert from Harvard, of uncertain portfolio, who spoke in the tone of an undertaker and foretold the end of the middle class. For some reason, no one thought to contact us in the hopes of finding balance (remember balance?) along the way."

Today, he reports that CNN has responded to his message:

"Got a nice e-mail from CNN today concerning the piece posted below … It was actually a very cordial and measured note, saying that ‘presenting a fair and balanced story is tough’, but noting that they strive to do so in all projects they take on … Our problem with the piece was that it ignored the causes of manufacturing job loss, the 22% (non-wage) cost disadvantage we have with our trading partners which drive companies out of business and out of town quicker than anything else …"

I talked to my friend Doug Kurkul over at NAM about their blogging experience and will have some of their comments to share a little later.

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