’Citizen journalists’ alter political landscape (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

Boston Herald ^ | January 8, 2008 | Jessica Heslam

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MANCHESTER, N.H - The 24-hour news cycle that has made presidential races an unavoidable spectacle has extended far beyond the mainstream media as hundreds of bloggers, YouTubers and “citizen journalists” have descended on the Granite State.

Former CBS anchor Dan Rather, covering the primary for the high-definition cable channel HDNet, said the new media is a plus overall, but there are some negatives.

“When it comes to blogging and some things on the Web, there’s little or no accountability,” said Rather, who covered his first presidential race in 1952. “This is the new American political coverage media. It’s a wilderness, and when you go into the wilderness, there’s always some danger.”

In 2004, bloggers discovered that documents about President Bush’s military record reported by Rather were fakes - leading to his downfall as CBS Evening News anchor. He has since slapped CBS with a $70 million lawsuit.

George Stephanopoulos, the chief Washington correspondent for ABC News, said everyone in the traditional media has a foot in the new media camp right now. In the latest example of new and old media joining forces, Saturday’s debates were jointly hosted by the 65-year-old ABC network and the social networking Web site Facebook.

“The wall between the two is getting more porous every day,” Stephanopoulos said. “All the candidates have to pay attention to it. More than ever before, there’s no such thing as an unrecorded moment on the campaign trail, for better or worse.”

While 2004 was considered the first blogger-driven presidential race, 2008 is a first for the video sharing Web site YouTube.

Franklin Pierce University student Steven Dodrill is covering the primary for his school and YouTube. Like many YouTubers, Dodrill took an offbeat approach, videotaping Mike Huckabee talking about the “Huckaburger” sandwich unveiled by the Arkansas pol.

Former Vice President Al Gore’s media outlet, Current TV, has a team of citizen and vanguard journalists camped out in a swank green and black lounge downtown.

“We want people to be able to tell the stories that are important to them because we don’t think that those stories are being told anywhere else,” said Current TV manager Andrew Fitzgerald.

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ping

[TChris]

...and who knows about accountability if it isn't Dan Ra^ther?

[sr4402]

I am the Best Journalist to talk about Journalistic Accountability. After all, I pushed the Bush National Gaurd documents as "FAKE BUT ACCURATE"

[PapaBear3625]

“When it comes to blogging and some things on the Web, there’s little or no accountability,” said Rather,

What he really means, is that there is little or no leverage on the bloggers to force them to stay with the Party Line

In the "MainStream Media", saying something "politically incorrect" can be a career ender. Many bloggers PRIDE themselves on political incorrectness. This is distressing to those who want to control the discourse.

[Uncledave]

Of all the people to ask for comments on this topic, this idiot reporter calls Dan Rather?

[RedStateRocker]

I really never felt that just because someone had a gig writing or talking about politics (hell, or even got themselves appointed to something) that we ‘ordinary citizens’ should be expected to defer to their expertise. Sorry Mr. Rather, Mr, Cronkite and Ms news babe of the day (and, to be fair Mr. Hannity and Mr. Limbaugh), just because you’ve got a job sitting in front of a camera or microphone does *NOT* mean you know a damned thing more than myself (or anyone of thousands of folks on here).

[Grampa Dave]

We catch Blather in his big lie and attempted Mass Mediot coup against our president. Now we are catching the implosion of Hill.

Watch the compost video below of how she turns an excited crowd in NH into bored to tears zombies moving to the exits.

Bear with the first 2 minutes of Hill’s bs and then watch the exodus of people.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2008/01/07/VI2008010700846.html

Now watch the crying Hill on ABC:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4097366

[Tribune7]

Former CBS anchor Dan Rather, covering the primary for the high-definition cable channel HDNet, said the new media is a plus overall, but there are some negatives.

Like, you could get fire if you make up stories. Wasn't like that in the old day, by gum. Courage.

[VxH]

[In 2004, bloggers discovered that documents about President Bush’s military record reported by Rather were fakes - leading to his downfall as CBS Evening News anchor. ] 

^The horror, ^The horror