Edmonton – The City of Edmonton has hired its first blogger in residence.
Scott McKeen has accepted the challenge of providing Edmontonians with a behind the scenes look into what happens at city hall, how the city operates, and the work done by city workers.
McKeen brings plenty of experience. He’s spent 15 years of his journalism career reporting and commenting on civic government. For eight years, he wrote an Edmonton Journal column on civic affairs.
He says the biggest challenge will be creating posts that are “sexy, interesting, and relevant” to Edmontonians.
“As I put in my first ever residence blog, I put the phrase ‘naughty bits’ in, just as a way to suck people in, shamelessly,” explains McKeen.
Garnering more interest towards the goings-on with civic affairs means reducing cynicism towards city employees, says McKeen. During his career, he has witnessed first-hand the work ethic of city employees.
“I was neurotic enough that I would often stay late, crafting my column you know, going over it one more time and then one more time, so I would leave at eight o’clock sometimes, go down to the LRT station and see a number of city middle managers there going home,” says McKeen.
“These people are just our neighbours and friends, and they’re just folks.”
Scott McKeen’s blog entries can be found at transformingedmonton.ca.
His position as the City of Edmonton’s blogger in residence is scheduled to last for six months. The entire project will cost $6,000.
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