Yesterday the Memphis Flyer distributed its annual “Best of Memphis” issue, the kind of exercise that’s usually little more than an excuse to substitute a real issue with a series of happy lists, offer readers (who bother to vote) a sense of community, promote staff cronies and favorite dives, and pass the hat around to advertisers who jump at the chance to run full page ads boasting about their first-place status. It’s a win-win deal.

For the category of “best local blogs,” senior editor Jackson Baker introduces his own “A List,” with this caveat: “Since the Flyer has an established hard-news focus and since my usual bailiwick is politics, and since (further) politics and public/social issues tend to predominate in blogs qua blogs, the lists [local and national] will have that bias too.”

First up is the The Flypaper Theory, by the Flyer’s own Chris Davis, a reliable lefty.

My libertarian pal Mike Hollihan takes second with his blog Half-Bakered, named after the author.

Third is, well, this space… I had no idea the honor was coming until one of my coworkers pointed it out. Here’s the writeup:

Fishkite (fishkite.com).
Operated by one Mick Wright, this “blog between church and state” is another conservative-oriented blog, but it eschews propaganda in favor of exploring the seams and testing its hypotheses (come to think of it, this describes Hollihan too, and maybe that’s why he’s contemptuous of [talk radio host Mike] Fleming). Fishkite seems to make a real effort to round up fresh material, whether or not it corresponds with some pre-ordained point of view.

After reading that about five or six times, I’m still having a hard time believing my eyes. Jackson is just too kind, so watch me explain away the praise: “eschews propaganda” = too lazy to re-type the fax I get each morning from Karl Rove; “exploring the seams” = alternating whacks between Jim Wallis and Dick Cheney; “testing its hypotheses” = youthful (persistent?) ignorance; “a real effort to round up fresh material” = ushering readers to more interesting places.

Fourth is Carol Coletta’s Smart City Memphis.

A list-within-a-list takes the five spot: LeftWingCracker, Dark Bilious Vapors, The Polar Donkey, Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This, River City Mud Company, Darrell Phillips, and Thaddeus Matthews. Baker doesn’t provide links, so I’ve just linked the two I’m familiar with (and aren’t defunct).

Some observations:

Graphics - First, instead of a screenshot of the Flypaper blog, we get Davis’ Blogger bio page. Was there something obscene on the main page that couldn’t be printed? Second, a lovely capture of Fishkite appears on page 33, while the text doesn’t appear until after the jump on page 37. Halfbakered probably would have taken this spot, except he’s got the black background vibe going, which may not reprint well.

Selection - We can guess why Flypaper and Halfbakered score high, as they’ve got both high quality and close ties to the author working for them. The only thing I can figure about Fishkite is that I’ve twice posted photos of Jackson Baker: here and here. And, anyway, I have nothing but kind things to say about the man. I think he’s a tremendous asset to this city, as he seems to know more about local politics than just about anybody around, and he offers invaluable analysis and reporting week after week, writing in a way that is always informative and often quite entertaining.

Also, by including Fishkite, it’s easier for Baker to pack #5 with several left-leaning blogs (while simultaneously not picking favorites among them) and also get away with a solidly-liberal national blog list that finds its only balance in an “honorable mention” for the Drudge Report. Baker thrice laments his inability to provide a more comprehensive list, due to a lack of space, but reiterating the point three times only serves to limit his space further… so we might deduce that there is plenty more going on behind the scenes (politics, you might say). Give the man some credit — he’s quite the conniver (and I mean that in a good way).

What’s missing - Several good local political blogs, including Alphapatriot, The Conservative Zone, and JoeFish; a growing number of campaign blogs (Mike Rude and John Farmer are two that come to mind); and a ton of great (mostly) apolitical blogs, whose ranks swell daily see: Jon Sparks, Rodent Regatta and Quixtar blog, just to name a few.

I can’t blame Baker for leaving those out… but what’s with his failing to mention the Flyer’s own blog, Let it Fly, which appears to have just launched a few weeks ago? And, since the article is titled “Blog Rolling,” how about adding us honorees to the Flyer blogroll?

A request - If the Flyer brought you here and you’re new to Fishkite, thanks for stopping by. One thing I ask — would you please leave a brief comment below? I’d like to see how many visitors the Flyer is driving this way, and I’m sure they’d be interested to know, as well. You can even leave a fake name and e-mail address, I don’t mind, I just think it would be fun to see the tally.

UPDATE: The column is now online.