GAG ALERT!!
http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2006/10/27/Editorial/Bloggers.Get.Point.Miss.Complexity-2406768-page2.shtml?sourcedomain=www.dukechronicle.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com
Bloggers get point, miss complexity
Posted: 10/27/06
When the spring media storm descended upon Duke following allegations that members of the 2005-2006 men's lacrosse team raped an exotic dancer, Duke's reputation received a major blow.
And then the bloggers took off, many of whom now lambaste Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong and the mainstream media's handling of the case. They're not too fond of the Duke administration either.
Although bloggers have been able to push news coverage by focusing on a number of nuances in the scandal, they often miss-sometimes in a very dangerous way-the crucial complexities of the sentiments on campus.
When DNA results came back April 11, The Chronicle ran a staff editorial that called for national media to make the lacrosse story look less like a "made-to-be-Lifetime-movie special." The editorial asked journalists to maintain ethics and reclaim credibility by continuing to focus on developments in the lacrosse case.
During what has been a "lull" in media coverage, bloggers have retained their focus on the lacrosse scandal and have continued to shape public opinion.
When the lacrosse scandal first broke, bloggers had the luxury of watching the pieces come together from a distance as major media scrambled. By April, bloggers came into the game in a major way, and have made a number of very good points since. They have even scooped major media on several occasions.
KC Johnson and John in Carolina, among other bloggers, have noted many times that the fault with the mainstream media's coverage of the case has been its tendency to make the lacrosse scandal a "black-white," "good-bad" issue.
Correct, but now it seems the tides have turned and the bloggers themselves have gone down a similar road. They have villainized President Brodhead, major media and Nifong while making the lacrosse players themselves into absolute angels. Down here on the ground-from the campus perspective-things aren't quite that simple.
Most troubling, though, is the fact that sometimes such assertions are made from afar with little true reporting. An informed-complex-understanding of the situation requires in-depth conversations with administrators, lacrosse players, lacrosse parents, defense lawyers, hundreds of students, alumni and many more.
Without context, speculation can be a very dangerous matter. Indeed, such speculation can lead one to jump on a simple faux pas or take a professor's quote out of context. Doing so breaks the very ethical standards of journalism bloggers castigate major media for overlooking. And if you're in the game, you need to play by the rules. The best bloggers covering the case have dug deep and haven't been afraid to point out their own mistakes.
This said, there are no editors in the blogosphere and few checks to make bloggers consistently accountable for what they write. Indeed, some continue to remain anonymous. Visitors to such blogs should remember that bloggers are bloggers-many have interesting views but they are not reporters, they are not experts and they are certainly not objective.
Six months after DNA results came back negative, questions about major media, the administration and the controversial District Attorney Mike Nifong have certainly popped up. Most Duke students now show their unabashed support for the team.
Through it all, the lacrosse scandal has raised questions that strike at the very heart of what this University is about. But it's an injustice to this place to oversimplify matters.
It is indeed the media's job to get the full story. If bloggers want a voice in the discussion on the table, they-like the mainstream media-should set aside black and white conclusions and start focusing on the true blue and white.
The "Get Point. Miss Complexity" piece is pathetic.
Lack of physical evidence couldn't be any less complex.
Where do these folks come from?
I wonder if the author feels "60 Minutes" missed the 'complexity' as well?
The lack of editors is not a concern. The "few checks" is laughable. The checks are built right into the system - via competition between the blogs themselves. Fortunately, many moderate-to-right-wing blogs value accuracy over vitriol (I wish I could say the same for left-wing blogs).
Finally, sites like FreeRepublic serve as checks on the accuracy of the various blogs. This, in a way, is a debating forum in which facts always trump partisanship (almost always? ;-P). The bloggers on the DukeLAX case do NOT miss the complexity, but rather see through it. The players are not angels, but the mere accusation does not necessarily merit the pre-judgement punishments meted out by the school, especially regarding the public evisceration of the players' reputations.