Mass media beware: the bloggers (list your favorites)

TownHall.com ^ | 6/6/02 | John Leo

[spycatcher]

QUICK LINKS: HOME | NEWS | OPINION | RIGHTPAGES | CHAT | WHAT'S NEW

townhall.com

John Leo (back to story)

May 6, 2002

Mass media beware: the bloggers

One vote here in favor of the blogging revolution. Bloggers (from the words "Web log") write personal online diaries and commentaries. The best bloggers weigh in on social and political issues, report nuggets of information that the national media miss or suppress, and provide links to other bloggers with something sharp to say. Subjects that the mainstream press is skittish about (e.g., the link between abortion and breast cancer, or the mini-race riot that occurred in Cincinnati three weeks ago) tend to show up in the blogging world. Bloggers are emerging as a check against the mainstream press and as a prime source of news and commentary among the young.

A minor example of the culture in action: The blogging corps got wind of a poll being sponsored by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) allegedly showing that 94 percent of those surveyed thought Ariel Sharon should be put on trial for war crimes. By linking quickly to one another's Web sites, the bloggers brought many other voters into the poll and reversed the numbers. At the end, 94 percent opposed the idea of trying Sharon.

The first commandment of blogdom is that anyone can become a pundit. Nobody is in charge. Bloggers can say anything they want to and get their message out with blinding speed. This is unsettling to us lumbering print guys. Six or seven times I've had to abandon a column because some upstart blogger beat me to it. Andrew Sullivan, perhaps the most quoted blogger, is surely the fastest gun. His 1,000-word analysis of the State of the Union message appeared on his site just 33 minutes after President Bush finished speaking. Sometimes Sullivan launches attacks on wayward columnists around 4 a.m., so blog fans can read his version before they get to the columns being attacked.

The fairness of blogworld is impressive. Glenn Reynolds, a University of Tennessee law professor whose InstaPundit site (http://instapundit.blogspot.com) is the 800-pound gorilla of the blogging culture, is strongly pro-cloning. But he recently provided links to a series of mostly anti-cloning Christian sites so readers could judge for themselves. Another example of blogger openness is Catholic and Enjoying It! (www.markshea.blogspot.com), which posted the sad comment, "There's nothing like having the church you love be the butt of the whole world's jokes," and then provided the link to a biting anti-Catholic satire about abusive priests. In the print world, it's safe to say, making sure that one's detractors are heard is much rarer.

The crisis over sex abuse by priests has brought a lot of Catholic bloggers into the field. Some of the commentary has been first-rate, particularly on Sursum Corda (http://sursumcorda.blogspot.com) and Amy Welborn's site In Between Naps (www.amywelborn.blogspot.com). Protestants weigh in heavily, too. (A list of 120 Christian blogs is available at www.MartinRothOnline.com.)

Political bloggers are mostly right of center, either conservative or libertarian. The conventional wisdom is that the strong rightward tilt is a reaction against the mandatory liberalism of the modern newsroom. But nobody knows for sure. Bloggers have given encyclopedic and favorable analysis to Bernard Goldberg's charge that the "right wing" label in journalism is applied much more commonly than the adjective "left wing." Blogworld has strongly supported the war on terrorism and is famously quick to point out logical and moral failings of anti-war relativists.

Out of blogger-induced fairness, I hereby recommend two liberal sites. One is the site of Tom Tomorrow, the cartoonist and commentator (www.thismodernworld.com). He's fair, funny and a friend. The Daily Howler (www.dailyhowler.com) is a useful check on conservative excesses, though sometimes over the top. Be sure to read "Our Current Howler: Part II -- 03/12/02" with the synopsis that reads: "The American way of life has been challenged. But whose side is John Leo on?"

Now the corporate world seems to be heading blogward. Fox News hired blogger Ken Layne and put him on its Web site (www.foxnews.com). National Review Online (www.nationalreviewonline.com), an indispensable site, recently added a blogging section. ABC.com now runs a blog-like political commentary, "The Note," which recently mocked the "Forrest Gump-like existence" of Sen. John Kerry and the role of the Boston newspapers in keeping Kerry's reputation aloft.

In two cases, bloggers have prepared the way for new newspapers in major cities. SmarterTimes.com, a running account of the sins and omissions of The New York Times, led to the founding of the New York Sun, New York City's new conservative daily paper. A similar path is being followed in Los Angeles, where LAexaminer.com regularly snipes at the Los Angeles Times to prepare the way for a new anti-Times daily paper. Check in with blogworld. It's worth your time.

Contact John Leo | Read his biography

©2002 Universal Press Syndicate

townhall.com

QUICK LINKS: HOME | NEWS | OPINION | RIGHTPAGES | CHAT | WHAT'S NEW

[spycatcher]

This thread started after sciencediet asked the question heard round the web, "What's a blog?" and encouraged me to post my response as a new subject for discussion. I was shocked after doing a FR search to see so little on the subject. So here it is with a non-vanity article to kick it off

Maybe we can petition JimRob to read this and make some permanent links on the front page (the right hand side would be perfect) to the best blogs for FReepers to check out. We need to roll with the times and not just change the graphics. The Internet has moved into a new phase when it comes to alternative news and reporting. It would lead to posts of more good articles that we might otherwise miss, and more people might start blogs as the best place for their vanity posts as TLBSHOW mentioned. It would also lead to more people linking to ideas and articles from FReepers

Blogging to make FR better -- list your ideas, favorite blogs, and bloggers below.

A few of my favorites to start with:

Updated link for Instapundit

The Corner on NRO

Little Green Footballs

Right Wing News

JunkYardBlog

Global News Watch

and finally Daypop where you can search 7500 News Sites and Weblogs for Current Events and Breaking News

[ChadGore]

Blogger = YASITFIAM

Yet Another Silly Internet Term Forgoten In A Month.

[Mo1]

Please Don't Make Me Use The Cat ..
We Are Almost there ...
SUPPORT FREE REPUBLIC

Donate Here By Secure Server

Or mail checks to
FreeRepublic , LLC
PO BOX 9771
FRESNO, CA 93794

or you can use

PayPal at Jimrob@psnw.com

Thank you Registered!
STOP BY A BUMP THE FUNDRAISER THREAD

[spycatcher]

ping

[tallhappy]

He's fair, funny and a friend.

"Tom Tomorrow" is obsessed with conspiracy crap and Rush Limbaugh and obviously fake stuff about George Bush.

There is something wrong with him. What's worse is he is taken seriously by major media and the mainstream when what he addresses are his own mental problems.

That is one of the scariest things about this nation over the past decade or two. A huge disconnect from reality and obsessional thinking is becoming the norm.

[spycatcher]

Yeah I agree about Tom Tomorrow. Sorry if this is a repost, I searched for the term blogger instead of bloggers and missed it. I was using it more to kick off the thread anyhow

See this consolation article for something similar that wasn't posted yet... All the News That's Fit to Blog

[catonsville]

"Instapundit." Bloggers fill in the political and philosophical spaces that the main media leave out-- including conservative sources. I am sure the media read bloggers to get sources for their OWN news.

One person journalism and they can make a difference.

[Lady Jag]

This Blogger thing is entirely new to me and from what I've read about it here today, it is not going away too soon.

One thing I'm thinking is it would be good to know your bloggers. Second thing I'm thinking is I've got a whole lot of blog reading to do.

I don't know if it was you, spycatcher or ccmay maybe, but on another post, someone suggested a blog link section on FR's front page. Whoever said it I second the motion.

[jodorowsky]

Angry Clam, though he hasn't updated in a long time

[FreedomPoster]

Jerry Pournelle's site is sort of a moderated blog. Kinda sorta. It's really it's own thing, but if you're interested in computers, technology policy, and some good political commentary by a true conservative, it's pretty worthwhile. I subscribe.

[Lady Jag]

Thursday, April 11, 2002

Are Bloggers Journalists?

On the rise of Amateur Journalism and the need for a Blogging Code of Ethics

by John Hiler

Sometimes a blog is just a blog.

But sometimes it's not, and the line between weblogs and journalism begins to blur.  Just the other day, I was talking to a "real journalist": a friend of mine who freelances for the Economist and Red Herring.  I explained to him what I was doing with Microcontent News, writing articles about weblogs and personal publishing.

Then I made the mistake of referring to what I was doing as an example of "online journalism".

"Wait, how can that be real journalism?" he interrupted.  "You're totally biased because you work in the industry.  A lot of journalists don't even register with a political party so they can write about politics objectively!"  And that was just the beginning of my crimes against journalism: "You don't even have an editor, so none of your articles are even peer-reviewed!"

My friend had a point: real journalists benefit greatly from objectivity and peer-review.  But weblogs are powerful for exactly the opposite reasons: they allow opinionated bloggers to post to the web without an editor.  Depending on your point of view, this lack of objectivity and peer-review is either weblogs' greatest strength or their greatest weakness.

Nowhere is this conflict more in evidence than in the world of Journalism.   As weblogs start to break stories and deliver analysis from industry insiders, they're coming up against many of the same conflicts that Journalists addressed years ago with their famous Code of Ethics.  It's a catch-22: if all bloggers followed the Journalism Code of Ethics, their blogs would be objective and edited... but would they still be blogs?

Or put another way: can blogs contribute responsibly to the world of journalism, if they don't follow the Journalism Code of Ethics?  And if the Journalism Code of Ethics isn't relevant to weblogs, is there a Blogging Code of Ethics that is? Rest of the article here: Microcontent News.

[jodorowsky]

Tom Tomorrow is an idiot and a completely superficial thrasher of strawmen.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

Popular Web Sites for "Definition Of A Blog"

Search Results 1- 20 Ranked by Popularity

Next >>

1. blogThe Lycos Tech Glossary Definition
This page describes the term blog and lists other pages on the Web where you can find additional information.
http://webopedia.lycos.com/TERM/b/blog.html

2. Blog - definition, information, sites, articles.
The BLOG page at Marketing Terms.com - Internet Marketing Reference.
http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/blog/

3. Online Learning News Blog
a resource page for nline learning, asynchronous learning, and higher education technology
http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/onlinelearning/blogger.html

4. Resource Description Framework (RDF) / W3C Semantic Web Activity
Resource Description Framework (RDF) RDF Specification Development Bookmarks: Recommended Reading The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative is an open forum engaged in the development of interoperable online metadata standards that support a broad range of......
http://www.w3.org/Metadata/RDF/

5. G T T E R D M M E R U N G
Welcome to Mark Causey's web page. This page is mainly a resource for myself; it provides links to texts, pages, and various miscellania that I may need access to quickly and con veniently. However, it can also be a page for someone, like you, to get...
http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/users/m/mcausey/www/

6. Weblog Definition and Discussion: Client Help Desk
A weblog is a cross between a journal and a list of commented links. Internet terms by Client Help Desk.
http://www.clienthelpdesk.com/dictionary/weblog.html

7. CDG : CDMA Technology : Terminology and Definitions
cdmaOne is a brand name, trademarked and reserved for the exclusive use of CDG member companies, that describes a complete wireless system that incorporates the IS-95 CDMA air interface, the ANSI-41 network standard...
http://www.cdg.org/tech/cdma_term.asp

8. Fractalz.net
The Fractalz.net Blog - Interesting, weird and bizarre news stories and some fractals too.
http://www.fractalz.net/

9. insite.phillfox.net
Insite is Phillip Foxs personal weblog (blog). Created for the purpose of discussing current events, sharing links, and exploring the web.
http://insite.phillfox.net/

10. mayhaps.com
a semi-daily blog
http://www.mayhaps.com/blog/blog.html

11. Effective Styles - Linkware and Web Graphics Resources
Linkware web graphics and blog templates for personal non-commercial use, backgrounds tiles, buttons and web page design resources
http://www.effectivestyles.com/buttons.html

12. what really matter?
'What really matters ?' is a question that may or may not be answered in this blog. There is an almost infinite number of other questions that also will not be answered in this blog. Say I am not sure if any question at all will be answered in this blog....
http://www.this.matter.as/

13. dustbury.com log
Here be blog entries from dustbury.com.
http://www.dustbury.com/blog/200101.html

14. Facilitating Online Learning
prerequisite skills - lecturers/teachers prerequisite skills - students See the following online glossaries: http://www.richmond.edu/~kjoyce/minicourses/wwwpublish/glossary.html ...... I have...
http://www.chariot.net.au/~michaelc/olfac.html

15. Students' Distress with Distance Education - Noriko Hara and Rob Kling (Center for Social Informatics)
The Center for Social Informatics is dedicated to support research and study that examines social aspects of computerization including the roles of information technology in social and organizational change and the uses of information technologies in...
http://www.slis.indiana.edu/CSI/wp00-01.html

16. LD OnLine: Characteristics of Adults with Specific Learning Disabilities
information on learning disabilities, learning disorders, ttention deficit disorder, ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dysnomia, peech disorder, reading difficulties, special education, parenting, teaching, sychologists, pediatricians,...
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/adult/characteristics.html

17. http://www.who.int/hlt/virtuallibrary/English/fulltextjour.htm
Welcome to the web site of the World Health Organization Library in Geneva, Switzerland. The WHO Library and Information Networks for Knowledge (LNK) provides comprehensive library and information services on WHO-produced recorded information in print and...
http://www.who.int/hlt/virtuallibrary/English/fulltextjour.htm

18. McGraw-Hill OnLine Learning Home Page
Interactive online courses in business management.
http://www.mhonlinelearning.com/

19. Navajo Spaceships, Star Mountain and Rez Memories
A Look at My New Website under Construction This is my place, Navajo Spaceships, Star Mountain & Rez Memories a place for my writing. I named my website Navajo Spaceships because I envisioned it to be a flight into the imagination, taking us...
http://www.geocities.com/rustywire/

20. JRC Online Women's Journal
The Jewish Woman's Online Journal You are bright, educated, successful -- an accomplished American woman. A Jewish woman. How do you bring the two together? The Jewish Women's Online Journal is written especially for you. It's an articulate... The...
http://www.jewishrenaissance.org/journal.html

[FreedomPoster]

That journalist is exactly the reason why journalism is held in such low regard by many (most?). Not registering a political preference makes one objective and able to cover political news? Puhleeze. Give me a break; despite not registering as democratic socialists, most journalists are such, by any rational analysis.

"Objective" journalism is a myth propogated by journalists trying to put one over on the marks. This journalist reveals himself as such.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

All Web Sites for "Definition Of A Blogger"

Search Results 1- 20

Next >>

1. Weblog Definition and Discussion: Client Help Desk
A weblog is a cross between a journal and a list of commented links. Internet terms by Client Help Desk.
http://www.clienthelpdesk.com/dictionary/weblog.html

2. CDG : CDMA Technology : Terminology and Definitions
cdmaOne is a brand name, trademarked and reserved for the exclusive use of CDG member companies, that describes a complete wireless system that incorporates the IS-95 CDMA air interface, the ANSI-41 network standard...
http://www.cdg.org/tech/cdma_term.asp

3. Carolyn's Crazy Blog
I need a job. Argh. Okay, so I'm watching Days of Our Lives today, and I've got a couple questions: 1. What's wrong with these people? 2. Aren't they all related by now? Here's my critique of some of the main people: Kate--why does this... Here we are......
http://www.thescofields.com/carolyn/

4. News - PFLAG Houston
September 13, 2001 On Tuesday, untold thousands of people were killed by terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., as well as the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania. The devastation we are witnessing is ricocheting around the country...... Buy...
http://www.pflaghouston.org/news.htm

5. ~ t h e m u s i n g s ~
~.~.~ BTW, I picked out a hostess gift for Steve's mom. My mother is cute. She clucked at me for not just calling her. Here were her suggestions in case anyone else faces this dilemma: Suitable Hostess Gifts: nice soaps in a pretty box... I've...
http://bohemianyuppie.net/blog/

6. OgreCave.com
The weblog for unplugged gaming news and views, with your host Sven the Ogre.
http://www.ogrecave.com/

7. Girl Woman Goddess
Well I think it is safe to say that I have been feeling more creative than I have in a LONG ass time. Thats a nice feeling. I was starting to feel a bit .... ummm.. shall we say... done? cooked? ...run out? I dunno. None of those words really seem.........
http://www.girlwomangoddess.com/about.html

8. WordLab Links
This story gets more beautiful every day: a few days ago I lambasted Philip Morris for it's new name, Altria Group. Now it seems that a healthcare company, of all people, has that name, according to a new New York Times story. They derived Altria... Note...
http://www.wordlab.com/body_index.cfm

9. Welcome to Saint Martin's Lutheran Church!
Youth Ministry at St. Martin's "provides opportunities for youth to participate in the total life of the church and to nurture a relationship with Christ, the church, the community, and their peers" Nursery - 2nd Grade Youth Ministries 3rd - 5th Grade...
http://www.saintmartins.org/youth.html

10. Jotting Down Notes
Sugar for Sugar and Salt for Salt The Essential Bob Dylan (Columbia) Many have tried to sum up Bob Dylan's career in one succinct package, but it's awfully difficult to do. With a career spanning four decades, from the dawn of the '60s to the dawn of...
http://www.blankreb.com/blogger.html

11. this is my d.n.a:
almost daily rantings by ptr clrk
http://www.thisismydna.com/

12. pre2k
>> From a friend: Here Is New York. A gallery of images taken by professionals and amateurs, on display in New York and online. "The exhibition is subtitled 'A Democracy of Photographs' because anyone and everyone who has taken pictures relating to...
http://www.pre2k.com/

13. JAMESGUYTON.com
Monday, March 05, 2001 Tuesday, May 22, 2001 Tuesday, November 21, 2000 Saturday, January 06, 2001 Saturday, February 10, 2001 Wednesday, February 21, 2001 news about Listen now! photos recordings home e-mail guestbook JAMES GUYTON ...
http://www.jamesguyton.com/

14. bobblog:No, my last name isn't blog.
Bob Torres, weblog, blogger, blog, cool, interesting, funny, Cornell University, Cornell, Ithaca, NY
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/rjt5/blogger.html

15. Tome Of Thoughts - Mental Journal
Tome,Blogger,thoughts
http://www.infinitymonkey.com/tome

16. Pabs2000 - Vacations
blogger, Pablo Martinez: ShortFatGuy, Modern Sensitive Male, Ultimate player, Web Guy. Visit his eclectic site and learn about Ultimate Frisbee, his friends and family, and the world at large.
http://www.pabs2000.com/vaca/index.html

17. jilly! [incorporating crunk! the weblog]
Weblog, essays, links and top ten lists, courtesy of a Pittsburgh chick blogger.
http://jilly.pitas.com/

18. do you hear me? do you care?
weblog, web log, blog, blogger, idealog, dratfink, drat fink, indie, ejournal, music, musings
http://www.digitalmediatree.com/dave/dratfink.shtml

19. cobus | stuff
Personal website for Cobus Theunissen. Mainly a photo album, with a greymatter blogger
http://www.frommel.net/

20. Virtual Seeds Co.- Online Seed Store - Gardening Tips including tomato growing and more!
Virtual Seeds is your internet source for all your home garden seeds. Gardening tips include growing tomatoes, flowers and basic vegetable gardening hints. Gardeners love the convenience of shoppig online for seeds. Gardening topics such as pertinent...
http://www.virtualseeds.com/

[FreedomPoster]

And peer-review? When was the last time the Wash Post or NY Times corrected a blatant falsehood in as prominent a place as the falsehood was first printed (typically, A section, above the fold for the falsehood, page D27 for the correction).

[schaeffer]

http://www.lileks.com/bleats/index.html
http://www.lileks.com/index.html
http://talg.blogspot.com/

[Lady Jag]

"Objective" journalism is a myth propogated by journalists trying to put one over on the marks. This journalist reveals himself as such.

Being somewhat of a news junky, I concur and exept for the journalists whom I have chosen to avoid, I still feel it important to check them all out. After all, I for one, have learned to read between the li(n)es.

[Lady Jag]

Amazing find! Thanks.

[Lady Jag]

Exactly. What of the media can one believe? Most of the mainstream media assume readers/viewers limit themselves and as a result, journalism can 'get away' with a few faux pas and some deliberate mis-reporting. But news junkies find the faults. Too bad the vast majority of people/Sheeple wouldn't have a clue if it was stuck on their noses.

I still don't understand blogging, having just read about it here today, but it increases my enthusiasm about any kind of journalism that's going on on the Internet and how it has affected reporting today.