Schadenfreude, or gloating over another’s misfortune, is not a pretty thing. By definition. 

And though I’m used to being scolded by readers, my upbraiding by some of the Patch rank-and-file over my last post here has left me unexpectedly chastened.

I meant my rant for AOL’s corporate overlords, for Tim Armstrong and Arianna Huffington in particular, but I managed to offend and hurt other local journalists who, just like me, spent the last week bailing basements and working furiously to keep up with the news.

That’s bad, and that’s not pretty, and I apologize. 

We live in a time of great economic disruption and everything in the world of media — everything in the world — is up for grabs. My local newspaper got sore when a new kid came to town (that would be me) and I didn’t like it any better when Patch moved in. 

The two Patch editors whose work I know best — Shelley Emling and Mary Mann — do excellent work. I’d hire either of them in a minute if I could afford them. 

There is a war in the world of local, as the existence of publication StreetFight attests to, and I’m a bit player in that war. I enjoyed seeing my adversary stumble. I gloated. And the one who looked bad in the end wasn’t my enemy; it was me.

I have a lot to learn from the indie bookstores and small town retailers who have been fighting this fight for years. There are classier ways to fight wars, and I vow to learn them.

Debbie Galant, Baristanet