Get Herald RSSNow that the presidential election is over and the bar exam is behind him, Matt Jerzyk '99 has decided to sell his influential political blog Rhode Island's Future. In a blog post on Tuesday, Jerzyk announced that he had entered into an agreement to sell the blog and has begun working as an attorney in Providence for DeLuca and Weizenbaum, a personal injury and product liability practice.
Jerzyk, a former union and community organizer, started R.I.'s Future in January 2005 as a way to share his thoughts about the race for then Sen. Lincoln Chafee's '75 seat. The blog achieved notoriety during that race, when it revealed that a series of negative e-mails criticizing Chafee's Democratic opponent, Sheldon Whitehouse, were sent by a Chafee staffer from a Senate computer. Senate equipment is prohibited from being used for political purposes, and the staffer was suspended without pay as a result of the scandal.
The blog also revealed this year, spurred by discussions about Sen. John McCain's multiple houses, that Gov. Donald Carcieri '65 owns a property in Florida and had not paid taxes on it in years, Jerzyk said. Carcieri has since paid a check of $12,657 to pay those taxes, Providence's Turnto10.com reported in late August.
He cited the blog's ability to look at issues from a different perspective than most media organizations as one reason behind its success, despite not having a paid staff.
"If you ask different questions you are going to get answers that nobody was looking for before," he said.
The blog also serves as a forum for political discussion and progressive views. Jerzyk said one of his main goals was to create a place for Rhode Islanders who "have been left out of the political debate in one of the most notoriously closed political environments in the country."
Jerzyk said he will continue writing for the blog, but on a less frequent basis. Although he declined to say who had purchased the site, he said it will continue in "very good hands and grow into an even better forum."
As print media organizations like the Providence Journal continue to cut back on staff and coverage, Jerzyk said blogs can play an important role in keeping communities informed.
"The cutback we're seeing is really in local news reporting, so if you live in Cranston or Warwick where are you going to get your news?" he asked. "My hope is that some entrepreneurial citizens will start a local political blog."
"I really think that blogs are the town hall of the 21st century," he added. "We've changed both the political culture and the media culture."
