Like most things in life, good and bad, The Dagger started off innocently enough.
On September 7, 2007, the first introductory story, a two-paragraph piece aptly titled “Introductions,” was posted onto the Internet. Despite being called an introduction, the story posed more questions than it answered.
Today, September 7, 2008, we hope to finally answer some of those lingering questions as we celebrate The Dagger’s anniversary with some laughter, some tears and enough behind-the-scenes details to hopefully keep us relevant for another year.
That first month we had nine stories written by four authors covering such topics as: a Sept. 11th hip hop artist CD release duel; a purposefully-scuttled tennis match in which I was a willing participant; the size of former delegate Chuck Boutin’s head as seen in a local grocery store; the shocking corollaries between a boring CEO speech and a German military blitzkrieg; when and where it’s OK to sleep at work; tales from a six-man, three-day, single-hatchet camping trip; photos of a mayor’s vandalized billboard; and a piece I wrote that began: “This is a story about hotdogs and why they are occasionally given out for free.”
Three weeks into our existence and we had already hit our stride. We haven’t looked back since, but thought our first birthday might be as good a time as any to do so.
We’ve put some time, effort and heart into bringing you this special Dagger anniversary package and we would be thrilled if we got at least one of those three back from you in return. This is your story as much as it is ours.
Favorite Dagger Characters
You can’t have a story without characters and, fortunately, we’ve met a few memorable ones on The Dagger during the last year. Here are some of our favorites:
Punisher – Lean, mean and apparently from Aberdeen, this vigilante had a serious axe to grind with the city police force and wasn’t afraid to use it. Current whereabouts are unknown.
Memorable Quote: “so many of you like to talk out of school looks like its time for the teacher to teach”
Dell – This international man of mystery keeps a low profile, but seems to always resurface just in time for a well-placed political zinger or Monty Python quote.
Memorable Quote:
“Spiderveins! Spiderveins!
She’s got cankles and Spiderveins!
Fell asleep, on a bench
Wake her up you photo-mensch!
Look out!
Here comes the spiderveins!Is she strong?
Listen bud,
she’s got Geritol in her blood.
Tales to tell, just for you
(which will have a really great catch line, like how she smuggled peaches to the POW camps in WWII right under Gerry’s nose and then helped an American aircrew escape, but she always falls asleep right in the middle of the story and you feel really bad about trying to wake her up so you just cover her up with the old afgan that she always has thrown over the back of that loveseat that you always thought smelled like menthol cigarettes, even though nobody ever smoked in her house)
Look out!
Here comes the spiderveins!I miss my grandma…”
Dagny – A series of increasingly bizarre quotations and a growing challenge to make Matt read more books turned Dagny into an ultimately unforgettable, although decidedly short-lived, Aberdeen election era character.
Memorable Quote: “What happens to Ragnar? He keeps his money for a bit longer, but the compromises that he made in order to follow John will haunt him forever. He temporarily lost his way, BLANK OUT but he knows that when he falls, the ‘mystic’ spirit will be there to forgive him, pick him up, and once again put a crown on his head. Why? Because God or as Ayn lables him, “the mystic spirit” loves us unconditionally.
I am,
DagnyAND this is where I will remain until Nov. 6”
Vietnam Vet – A true original and something of a living legend among Dagger regulars. Vet’s no-nonsense demeanor and street-level view of Aberdeen have been around since the beginning and hopefully will be around until the end.
Memorable Quote: “yes daddy.Iam most certainly a decorated vietnam vet. and (0331) meaning machine gun specialist. I speak very little about the decorations.it’s not something to be proud of. men died because of them.”
RichieC– Where to begin? This guy has single-handedly set Dagger records for Most Comments, Most Consecutive Comments and Most Consecutive Comments Addressing Himself. What’s more, he not only uses his real and full name, but he’s also posted his home address, phone number, email address and on occasion even offers to meet other Dagger readers to show them in person what he’s talking about. He might be a little rough around the edges and he certainly needs to learn where the spell check button is on his computer, but you have to admire his gumption. I mean, he’s actually admitted to having someone read Daggerstories to him over the phone while he’s on the road driving and then dictated his comments and responses back to whatever poor soul was on the other end of the line! RichieC can be a crude, rude and downright lewd dude, but we wouldn’t change him even if we could – and believe me, we’re asked to on a regular basis.
Memorable Quote: “Remember its not about boats its about free speech and those who would silence it!”
“GO DAGGER!!!”
Favorite Dagger Moments
You’ll hear more of these moments as you read on, but here are a few that came immediately to my mind:
– Just a few weeks ago, The Dagger broke a story about the state not completely funding the Conroy Scholarship, which led to children of fallen officers and war veterans not receiving the college tuition help they were promised. Once the public outcry ensued, Fox45 picked up the story from The Dagger, and enough public pressure was formed to cause Gov. Martin O’Malley to go from being oblivious to the problem to fully funding the scholarship in just a week.
– One Aberdeen political puppet master famously told another local journalist that once the city elections were over The Dagger would dry up and have to “go back to writing about bears.” He was right. We did go back to writing about bears – and in spectacular fashion, if I do say so myself. But we haven’t dried up. In fact, I’d say we’re stickier than ever.
– It was Friday, October 26, 2007. It was the day before my wedding. I was standing in a Pennsylvanian pumpkin patch at dawn in a torrential downpour. My phone was ringing off the hook. A few hours earlier, The Dagger had published a story about a local newspaper being mentioned during a court hearing. Simultaneously, The Dagger had also arranged, or more accurately, had arranged for us, an advertisement to be published in the same local newspaper. And simultaneous to that, The Dagger published another story explaining and exposing just how and why an advertisement for our free blog was being published in that newspaper. I’m having a hard time catching my breath just remembering and retyping the whole situation, much less having lived through it. My phone was ringing off the hook because people were mad. Journalist friends were going to lose their jobs because they were in some way tangentially related to The Dagger and would make fine scapegoats. A group of multimillionaires was enraged that we spilled the beans to the public on who bought us the advertisement and why. I think some other Daggers were mad that they were dealing with the ensuing maelstrom while I was placidly picking pumpkins in a Pennsylvanian patch. Bridges were burned, literal lines were drawn in figurative sand and the world changed overnight. Now there was The Dagger.
Untold Stories of The Dagger
As part of our anniversary, several of our writers crafted personal stories sharing their most memorable moments of the past year and how they became associated with The Dagger:
– In “No Longer Do You Have to Feel Alone,” Kristi explains the power shift that occurs when you break down the walls of traditional media and give a community the chance to be both the readers and writers of its own local news.
– In “The Gift That Keeps on Giving,” Matt relays a cautionary tale of how easy it is for bridges to be unintentionally ignited by the white hot heat of doing something right.
– In “New American Journalism or Flat Out Poison?,” Josh lauds the grand idea of The Dagger as a worthwhile endeavor, but cautions there are still reasons to have strong reservations about the direction the site has taken as it has grown.
– In “Doing Things No One Else Can or Will,” Steve uses a lot of numbers and technical jargon to show off how smart he is while also quantifying The Dagger’s success in its first year.
– In “Voyeurism and Journalism Make for Great Educational Entertainment,” Mark talks about how he witnessed the future of local news and entertainment rise amid a small town election – and how he eagerly joined the movement.
– In “New Friends, New Relationships, New Opportunities,” Molly admits that her involvement with The Dagger has allowed her to meet and write about fascinating people and events on a local, national and even international level which she would likely have never come in contact with otherwise.
– In “Throwing Caution into the Wind…And Calling for a Police Escort,” Cindy recalls taking a chance on a trip to a popular regional radio station and how she’s better for the experience – even though she had to ask the former Baltimore City Police Chief for some extra protection on the way out of the studio.
– In “For a Community That Demands to Know More About Itself,” Carlin remembers how his skepticism with the original idea for The Dagger turned into surprise with its success.
Happy Birthday
We’d love to hear from you and post some of your memories and thoughts over the last year with The Dagger. All comments and submissions are welcome. Just, please, no one sing “Happy Birthday.” I’m not sure we could afford the royalty payments.
My singing is terrible, so I’ll just say it “Happy Birthday”! One memory that sticks in my mind was when the governor’s office called me about something negative posted about O’Malley on this site. They said he is your friend and I should defend him. I replied,and it is true, we are friends, but I agreed with what was said about Martin. Needless to say I did not honor their request. The point is “The Dagger” is getting a lot of justified recognition. Please keep up the good work!
By the way I am one of those who met with RichieC and about due for another meeting…this time I buy.
Well what to say….
Thank you Brian and ALL the others, both staff and readers, for giving me the privilidge to voice in untethered form on the Dagger.
Im kind of simplistic in my thinking to the extent that I TRULY BELEIVE that the press has a responsibility to expose. I had been extremely disillusioned by our local printed media when, by chance, the Dagger came along. It seems our printed media had sold out long ago. It no longer exposed and played watchdog. It was as the other guy put it…fish rappers…fertilizer.
I was considering a web site at the time I stumbled on to the Dagger…for no other reason than to get my Havre de Grace railroading message out. I had already taken the knuckleheaded step of telling the mayor that “comming in Jan of 08…Internet exposer”. Lucky for me I stumbled into the Dagger as I would’nt know where to start.!
I put out my story and got feedback both on and off the Dagger and now the issue Ive beaten like a bad step child actualy has teeth. Without the Dagger this would have never happened.
I CAN TELL YOU….THE DAGGERS VOICE IS LOUD AND CLEAR EVEN THOUGH SOME ARE TRYING TO PRETEND IT DOESNT EXIST OR THAT ITS NOT RELEVANT !
Ive also enjoyed the oppertunity to be one voice of my reigons fellow citizens on many other issues.
As for Del Riley…..He and I have built a friendship and trust as a result of Dagger interaction. He has shown me that he has an integrety that is second to none. He’s one of a very rare breed of politician that goes way beyond the promises and actualy performs. I have found his counsel, critique, and help second to none. Because of the trust and friendship he has placed in me I have also been extra diligent on my end to not abuse or exploit that friendship unless I can have my ducks in a row.
As for VET…great guy…common sense and pragmatic. Vet is also a fair guy…a good guy…and I like to see what his reaction to my comments and comments in general are.
There are many many others and I do enjoy interacting with all of you…without the dagger there would have to be three hundred pages of letters to the editor in the Aegis.
In conclusion I would like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAGGER ! , and as word spreads ….many, many, more to come !
GO DAGGER ! ! ! !
Thank’s Dagger. I hope too be around along time. but there are health issue’s. in my case.I have walked the wild side. lived in the not so nice areas of town. strangely enough and Fbi agent lived in the same houseing also. liveing incognito so he thought.
His identity was safe with me.
As for RICHIEC he is one of a kind& original. he feel’s he has been wronged & intends to see it righted. the dagger allows us all to voice opinions in real time not day’s later. as for Delegate Riley I’am inclined to believe we have a good man in office. as for THANK YOU’S we owe the DAGGER for our voice to be heard.
THANK YOU DAGGER
I have found it…yahoo !!!!!! I have just realized that there is a spell (chucker)checker in the tool bar on my Internet explorer. Now I’m gonna look smart like you guys.
Go Dagger!
Happy Birthday Dagger! I CAME IN HERE FOR AN ARGUMENT!!
Man:Look, this isn’t an argument.
Mr Vibrating: Yes it is.
Man: No it isn’t, it’s just contradiction.
Mr Vibrating: No it isn’t.
Man:Yes it is.
Mr Vibrating: It is not.
Man: It is. You just contradicted me.
Mr Vibrating: No I didn’t.
Man: Ooh, you did!
Mr Vibrating: No, no, no, no, no.
Man: You did, just then.
Mr Vibrating: No, nonsense!
Man: Oh, look this is futile.
Mr Vibrating: No it isn’t.
Man: I came here for a good argument.
Mr Vibrating: No you didn’t, you came here for an argument.
Man: Well, an argument’s not the same as contradiction.
Mr Vibrating: It can be.
Man: No it can’t. An argument is a connected series of statements to establish a definite proposition.
Mr Vibrating: No it isn’t.
Man: Yes it is. It isn’t just contradiction.
Mr Vibrating: Look, if I argue with you, I must take up a contrary position.
Man: But it isn’t just saying ‘No it isn’t’.
Mr Vibrating: Yes it is.
Man: No it isn’t, Argument is an intellectual process … contradiction is just the automatic gainsaying of anything the other person says.
Mr Vibrating: No it isn’t.
Man: Yes it is.
Mr Vibrating: Not at all.
Man: Now look!
Mr Vibrating: (pressing the bell on his desk) That’s it. Good morning!
Dell, thanks for that. I love Monty Python and haven’t watched that sketch in a long time. Gave me a good laugh!
Happy Bday Dag! Keep it coming.
RichieC- that was funny- spell check away!
I think it’s worth giving special praise to those elected officials who were brave enough to stick their necks (and names) out on The Dagger this first year.
The most participation came from the Maryland General Assembly, with Sen. Barry Glassman, and Dels. J.B. Jennings, H. Wayne Norman, B. Dan Riley and Donna Stifler all signing on and joining in the discussion at one time or another.
There are also a few local municipal politicians who pop up now and again including Havre de Grace City Councilmen Jim Miller and Bill Martin and Aberdeen City Councilman Mike Hiob.
That’s not to say there aren’t many others who have helped us out with leads and emails, but these folks deserve a round of applause for taking the leap into the unknown.
Let’s hope they stick around and their largely positive reception will inspire other elected officials to join the fray.
Happy Birthday Dagger! It is hard to believe that it is already a year. I enjoy the variety of articles you display and certainly find all the friendly banter most enlightening. Thanks Dagger and keep up the good work. I owe you a lot!!
My favorite moment? Well, there are many, but I’ll just list a couple…
– Seeing our local papers delete all references to our site in “letters to the editor”s that they print. Makes you wonder what else they are hiding. It’s not a one-time occurrence.
– Seeing a new newspaper-based start-up website/paper thing pop up, ask us to let them display our RSS feed as news, then program it so it only checks our site for new articles every 12-24 hours, and lists them in the middle of the night, if at all.
Point is they’re scared. They are going to do whatever it takes to make sure no one hears about us. With the help of you, our faithful readers, we want to make sure they aren’t successful.
Dagger: A lot has occurred since you went LIVE on the world wide web. My family thanks you for putting it out there, putting it all on the line, and not being biased and one sided like those two local newspapers. In fact, I would not even give them that much credit. One this is for sure, I cannot wipe my windows with the Dagger but I can with those other two…the cheapest form of paper towels. Again, thanks Dagger!
Hi Molly, I would first like to say “Thank You” for the wonderful article about my son Josh and I; it was very well written! I didn’t know that my old friend and role model Dan Riley was a frequent visitor of the “Dagger”! I have to tell your readers a little background on Del. Riley. I met Dan in 1978; he was my 8th grade history teacher. I would later that year have Dan and his wife go way above and beyond for a teenager; they took me in when my parents divorced and things at home were ugly. I lived with them on and off through out the year. Since then I have gained the Riley family as my second family. We speak often; but never often enough. His wife Linda and daughter Anna are my mom and little sister. What a tremendous act of compassion and genuine concern to offer me a normal home when mine was falling apart. I dont know who RichieC is nor have I met him; however I will agree that Dan is a man who actually is the definition of Integrety! Dan taught me in school and throughtout life the meaning of government; how it is supposed to work for the people; and when it don’t to stand up and make your voice heard! I have helped Dan in every single election since the beginning 20 yrs ago. I watched him work so hard to come up short; but never give up and eventually succeed!
Dan deserves where he is, he has worked for it and is the type of person average, everyday people need in an elected official. While we don’t always agree, we respectfully agree to disagree! I am a registered Republican but always vote for who I feel is the better candidate regardless of their party affiliation.
The people of Dans district are fortunate to have a “real man” to look-out for their interests; not a seasond politician.
Kudos to your work here; I am now a loyal reader!
Greeting’s Andy. just some friendly’ advice. the Dagger is not the aegis or record. it is known for some heated argument’s. that can turn ugly. but other than that. welcome to the Dagger.
Thanks fo rthe warning! I hate the Aegis and what’s the Record…lol. I like the open forum and trust me I have thick skin.
The record is the local paper. printed for the Haver de grace folk’s or at least the one’s who read it.
Congrats Dagger–kudos to the staff, especially Brian & Matt. Maybe you guys are onto something here like Sergey and Larry, the Google founders. I know you all put so much of yourselves into this endeavor and I am thrilled for you and for your readers and contributors as well. I have enjoyed watching this website grow from it’s news-based roots to what it is today–a mix of news, commentary, reviews and just plain old weird stuff. My favorite Dagger moments have to be when I read stuff here about my own office! Keep it going guys.
Andy…Welcome.
Now there’s two of us with alligator skin! That’s good.
Dan is a seasoned politician…the right kind of seasoning. Dan Makes you aspire to do the right thing…hes contagious in his attitude…. and I’m 50. Dan must have been one hell of a teacher…if he can make a goon like me mind my manners he must have been great !
I met Dan Through the Dagger. Its been a privilege.
Andy I hope you chime in a lot (maybe a little stirring). Are you Aberdeen or HdG ?
Go Dagger !
Just noticed “B” the site no longer has comment boards…..oh well ! ! !
RIP “B”
Go Dagger !
Richie,
I still don’t understand the point of that paper/website. They think that “young, urban, hip” people only care about horoscopes, fashion, and what’s on tv. Those that do can get better coverage online from their homes and cubicles than they can offer.
They still think that because they put it in print, and eventually on the web, they are still the local authority. Well, then they need to stick with local content.
They are struggling. So what do they do to create a buzz? The use the word “Douchebag” on the cover article one day, “leak” internal emails about it to poynter.org and other media-on-media news services, and write a featured blog post about it on the sun’s website and leave it featured for a week.
The concept was better than reality. Local blogs were told they were going to feature their content. What that ended up being was to list local headlines on their sidebar. Then they started deleting certain local blogs, and delaying the updates from others, possibly because the local blogs were doing local better than them.
I wasnt impressed at all with “B”.
Only 5 more comments until the dagger reaches 10,000*! Who is it going to be?
*does not include a bunch that we’ve had to delete due to personal attacks as well as the 38,784 spam comments we’ve caught. 🙂
God bless
the Daggers.
Wife: I don’t like spam!
Man: Sshh, dear, don’t cause a fuss. I’ll have your spam. I love it. I’m having spam spam spam spam spam spam spam beaked beans spam spam spam and spam!
…or Lobster Thermidor a Crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and spam.
and there it is, congrats to Carol G.
Should we have a contest for out 40 thousandth spam comment? Might make some russian or indian’s day…
BUT I DON”T LIKE SPAM!!!