Goodby Arthur Chrenkoff

Chrenkoff blogged A few days ago, I accepted a new job. Unfortunately, one of the conditions is that I will not be allowed to blog, or indeed write much on my own. As you can imagine, it has not been an easy decision. Oh, what the hell - it has been a damned difficult one. I have enjoyed blogging immensly, and I have enjoyed meeting all of you - virtually - over that time. I will, of course, write a bit more on this topic in due course, but in advance of that, a big thank you to all my readers and my fellow bloggers who have made the last eighteen months of my life so fantastic and so rewarding. Don't leave quite just yet - the blogging will continue for another few weeks.

I regret that we will not be able to see Arthur's reports when the battles in Afganistan and Iraq are finally over, because I have so enjoyed his Good News Reports as they have been going on. Who will now give us the other side of the issue? Will we be left to just see the MSM distortions of life in Afganistan and Iraq

Arthur Chrenkoff blogged yes, I will be writing for a living, but it won't be anything in the public domain, and furthermore, even if it was, the topics I will be working on would not be of much interest to all of you who came to this blog to sample my views on international events, the war on terror, Iraq, or popular culture. in the end, the decision - difficult as it was - came down to a simple choice: should I continue to stay indefinitely in the same job (which I enjoyed, but where I was standing still professionally) just because it allowed me flexibility to write outside of it, or should I try to move up professionally, even if it means having to give up my passion. Sadly, the passion didn't look like translating itself into a decently paying full time career, and so the majority view among the friends whom I asked for advice was that I should choose the "sensible" rather than the "romantic" course of action.

La Shaw Barber blogged I’m often asked what it takes to build a blog readership. My traffic numbers aren’t astronomical (yet), but I do know what draws in readers. One such method is to build an expertise in one or two subjects. Arthur had become the go-to blogger for news about Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, his posts were so in-depth and informative, they were regularly published in the Opinion Journal. Expertise-building is gold in the blogosphere. The blogger at Riehl World View, for example, started blogging in late May, and he already averages close to 50,000 unique visitors per day. Why? He’s the go-to blogger for information about Natalee Holloway and probably a few other topics. The Political Teen, who seems to be buckling under the weight of his traffic, is the go-to blogger for video clips. (He’s back online now.)

I am glad to see him back. I was a guest blogger for him for a few days when he had to go to some sort of retreat.

Throughout the day, I’ll update this post with links to bloggers who’ve built an expertise. In fact, if you currently visit certain bloggers who cover specific topics, let me know in the comment section. Now that Arthur is leaving, the opportunity to fill the Iraq/Afghanistan news void is wide open. There are other bloggers, but none as big as Chrenkoff.

Michelle Malkin blogged Blogger extraordinaire Arthur Chrenkoff, known for his comprehensive reports on the good news from Iraq and Afghanistan that the rest of the MSM has downplayed over the last year and a half, is hanging up his mouse. He wrote early this morning to say that he has taken on a new job that will not allow blogging. In an ideal world, someone smart in the journalism business would have hired him full-time to allow him to keep doing what he is doing. As I wrote back to Arthur, he has had an enormous impact in a short amount of time and I hope that he'll be able to resume publishing again at some point soon.

John Hinderaker blogged Arthur Chrenkoff has written to convey news, good and bad. The good news is that he has gotten a new job which evidently represents a substantial professional advance. The bad news is that he is required to give up blogging as a result. Arthur's periodic summaries of the good news from Iraq and Afghanistan have been one of the great services performed by bloggers over the last year and a half. Knowing how much time it takes to research, assemble and link to such information, we can only imagine the amount of effort that Arthur devoted to this task. He leaves big shoes, which we hope another blogger can fill.

Mary Katherine Ham blogged Perhaps a Carnival in his honor is in order? I would be glad to host a Carnival of Chrenkoff, as I know plenty of others would, to fill the gap until someone wants to take on the Herculean task of trying to fill Arthur's shoes. Mark Coffee offered a great Chrenkoff tribute earlier this year