Very few people would criticize the New York Times as a credible editorial source, and even fewer would do so if invited by the newspaper giant itself for an executive event. But Jake Dobkin’s deep-seated need to be authentic trumps any fear of intimidation, even by an iconic behemoth.

Around the same time last year, Times media critic, David Carr, invited Dobkin to be part of a panel of executives for the paper’s event. Carr sent him guide questions via e-mail in preparation to the imminent competition between blogs and newspapers, where it asked about Times position as a credible editorial resource for New York’s political and cultural affairs. “But the mention of the Times as a ‘credible editorial resource’ sent Dobkin off on a rampage of a response, berating the paper in an email that he also posted on his public Facebook,” reported Joe Coscarelli of the Daily News, who wrote about what Dobkin describes as “one of my more amusing escapades.”

“After I wrote that e-mail, they still graciously allowed me to appear on the panel, where I said much the same stuff to the senior staff at The Times. They listened politely and then David escorted me out of the building, never to be invited back,” said Dobkin. His authority on the field of local blogging is centered on the fact that he had built one of the biggest and most read local blog in New York, the Gothamist.