Sing-along
In response to a question from the audience, Myra MacPherson — author of a biography of I.F. Stone called All Governments Lie — said "You know what they say? Blogging is the karaoke of journalism." This statement elicited laughter from the Book Fair audience gathered to hear her and Helen Thomas speak on the failure of the government and the media to call out the administration on their lies to the public. And while it is a good line, it irritates me a bit.
Why are some journalists — particularly the more successful and entrenched ones — incapable of grasping that not all blogs have the same goal? Sure, there are quite a few political blogs, and they tend to get the lion's share of media attention, but we aren't all stepping on "real" journalists' toes. Some of us prefer to tread on the loafers of syndicated columnists, instead.
Making the implication that all personal websites are pseudo-journalism is akin to claiming that all novels are bodice-rippers. I hope that some day the "real" journalists will take the time to do a little fact-checking on the new medium. If they don't, they will continue their slide into irrelevance.
4 Comments:
KU freakin' DOS to you man!!! I thinkthe real problem here is that bloggers, who are simply writers of course, who are not producing under a corporate owned entity are somehow less of writers, or when I blog for example my writing is less valid then when a corporate entity is paying me may be one of the most absurd perspectives I have ever encountered. It say tons about the degree to which we have delivered over legitimacy of thought and information to the hands of a powerful few. That is sooo sad. And scary.
MKH, truth is a lot of journalists recognize the value of bloggers and also recognize that in this day of easy access to public records there are many bloggers with no formal training but easily as much credibility as mainstream reporters.
Who doesn't recognize this in the news biz are a few "celebrity" journalists and some old-school management types who are afraid of change.
James, I hope it is obvious I don't lump you in with the clueless crowd. Your own blog aside, I know you've spoken at conferences on the subject, so I know you get it.
Frankly, I have the same beef with bloggers who assume that if you don't share their goals and methods you aren't really a "blogger." Then again, I've never been much of a joiner anyway.
Oh, and it's good to see you back, Miamista.
Agreed, MKH, that not all blogs have the same goal, and I would go as far as saying that some of us would actually rather been seen as MORE credible and reliable than the crap that mainstream media has become. And yet, for those who aspire to be newsy or viewed as a source of valid info, I would say they currently get more readers and feedback than "real" journalists are comfortable admitting. That may not make them "real" journalists, but I deal with plenty of those on a daily basis who have a strongly formed bias before they even get any real information and who can't report a story without someone else doing most of their work for them. And unless things have changed drastically since I went to journalism school, those two things right there go against the most basic tenets.
So yeah, I see them there in their glass houses - and I don't think it's very smart of them to be casting those stones.
Post a Comment
<< Home