‘Rapping’ About ‘Rap Sheet’

The Inquirer opened a new blog today, Rap Sheet. If you recognize the format, it’s because it’s the same as the Daily News‘ Philly Confidential. (That’d be the two crime reporters blogging, usually about how the story today was “sad.” Of course, if you think a blog’s format needs to be original in order to read it, you’re certainly not here.)

Nonetheless, as usual, I give every blog a shot before dismissing it, and here’s the first paragraph posted to Rap Sheet:

My colleague Barb and I have started a blog called “Rap Sheet” and we’re pretty excited about it. In law enforcement, the term “rap sheet” is slang for a police arrest record. The term “rap” is also a colloquialism for conversation, and that’s exactly what we want to do here. The web serves as our “sheet”.

Also, a “blog” is short for “web log,” a journal of thoughts posted to a website, usually unfiltered. Some of the people we’ll write about will be “convicted,” a term meaning the “jury” — more on this word later — found them “guilty.” (Oh, we’ll need a whole post for that last one.)

Rap Sheet.
Philly Confidential