Bashing, Bashing Everywhere
So, apparently I wasn't the only one slightly irked by Bill Keller's bashing of the blogosphere on Saturday night. The Spectator's online article about the event has 77 comments at last count. (Just to keep this in perspective, the last time the Spec's Web site had anywhere near this number of comments was when one of the sports columnists wrote an article bashing Dartmouth and the entire Dartmouth community responded.)
Unfortunately, though, it has turned into a bash-the-NY Times-and mass media-fest instead. Now, I don't think the mainstream media is perfect (and for the record, neither does Keller who said so in the same controversial speech - c'mon Mr. Keller you know you want to give me a job), but I think they do a very good job and I don't think they're quite as biased as anyone would have you believe. Any news source anywhere is going to be biased because we all - journalists included - see the world through the lenses of our own experiences. Every effort should be made to avoid that, but it's going to happen and I think most intelligent people who read the newspapers know that. And I don't think bashing the media is any fairer or more mature than bashing blogs.
posted by Eli7 @ 8:04 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
When a Newspaper or Network news organization is doing something they have the good of their own ahead of the good of the story. what they write and say or do has lasting effects on ratings, advertisers, staffers, employees of the station and paper. People's jobs and future careers all depend on which stories get written, and often that can hinder a story.
When a blog is written there are lots of it's own issues, BUT it's still a clear, honest, no consequences opinion from a person. Yes like I said often it could be biased and have major issues, from any angle, BUT it's still one persons real view on the story.
Like everything else in the world of evolution in technology the news world will adapt and change till blogs find their place and acceptance in the news world.
funny thing is, if you go to AOL BETA, they are already working on a blog feature for AOL users .. watch how commercialized that becomes ... nothing is left pure for long.
Basically, blog users admit that they have an agenda and are one-sided. Newspapers are the same, they just pretend they aren't.
I would venture that newspapers at least try not to be biased, which doesn't always mean they're not but they do try. I work for my college newspaper and I will tell you that they try REALLY hard to be unbiased (which means I get to watch the sun rise from the newspaper office). So, I think there's at least that effort made in the media, and people should recognize that mothing is completely unbiased.
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