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Please Don't Miss and
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Wednesday, 16 August 2006
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Of Insignificant Microbes and Higher Beings.
Contributed by The Gray Dog
(Apologies to John Steinbeck and TTLB.com) "The price of freedom of religion, or of speech, or of the press, is that we must put up with a good deal of rubbish" __ Robert Jackson Attempting to absorb the events of this past week, I find that I am simultaneously surfing several BLOGs, while Rush Limbaugh streams through my PC and my hand keeps tapping the TV remote as I bounce between FNC, CNN and the occasional network news. I have to admit that it is only by mistake when I land at CBS and I’m quite certain that there are no presets on my radio that pick up NPR or Air America. Its not that I don’t want to be aware of opposing positions, (I did mention CNN), it’s just that their positions haven’t changed in decades. Then, with all of these vast resources at hand, I attempt to devise a unique perspective on a topic that interests me. For me this is the greatest challenge; to find a way to present a well worn topic with a fresh and different perspective. I would conjecture that many bloggers have a similar approach, and for that, I tip my hat to all of us ‘would be’ journalists. Yes, I called us journalists. Not always in the lofty sense of those who call journalism their profession, but in a more humble sense of the word. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines journalist as follows: 1 a: a person engaged in journalism; especially: a writer or editor for a news medium 2: a person who keeps a journal So journalists we are, albeit of a form that the main stream media as well as the cable news upstarts sneer at while dismissing us as un-educated, un-edited and un-filtered extremists, long on agenda while short on substance. Of course if professional journalists were to engage in an honest self examination, it might reveal a similar image. With this said, it is easy to conclude that part 1b of the above definition is the pervasive attitude within the Fourth Estate, leaving our professional brethren to quantify their journalistic value by the size of their audience. Yes, Virginia; Size Matters! Circulation, Nielsen, and Arbitron are the industry standards that measure the relative success of the main stream media and fuel the competitive juices of today’s journalistic wars. Even my favorite conservative outlets participate zealously in the “size wars.” Rush Limbaugh regularly reminds his audience that their number is 20 million strong, while Bill O’Reilly gloats nightly that “The Factor” has an audience that outnumbers his top four competitors combined. Size truly matters when it comes to determining your ability to reap advertising dollars and bloated contracts, both of which, as a capitalist, this dog understands and appreciates. But as other gargantuan media outlets have demonstrated, size and economic success does not always serve to guarantee the truth. CBS/Rathergate, NYT/Jason Blair and Reuters/fauxtography are only recent examples. Truth, historically, has been the province of the powerful. Whether it was dictated to Roman Criers, force fed by Pravda or delivered to your doorstep by the Hearst family, your knowledge and subsequent acceptance of a world view was largely dependent upon the limited resources available to you. And, while America and other western democracies have had greater choices in their news resources; the viewpoint has typically been controlled by the wealthy and powerful. Now, in the tradition of the small hometown newspaper and the 100 WATT radio station, enter the blogger. Equally small in stature, raw in talent, but with a fervor and passion that would cause a small town Baptist preacher to blush. Yes, we lack filters and editors and most of us have an agenda, but then what major media outlet doesn’t? Bloggers may not be the beacon of all truth in the media, yet we are responsible for bringing to light a number of significant events our big brothers have missed. From Drudge’s breaking of the Monica Lewinski scandal, to the revelation of the phony Rathergate documents and most recently the Reuter’s “fauxtography” scandal, bloggers are carving a niche in 21st century journalism. The hypocrisy of the main stream media’s attempt to marginalize the blogosphere is demonstrated by their willingness to participate in it. There is not a major news outlet or media personality that does not maintain a BLOG or web site as an extension of their flagship enterprise. Likewise, many bloggers that have worked their chops into shape on the internet have catapulted into cable news and talk radio. Finally there are a large number of well rooted “pure” BLOGS that are achieving weekly readership levels in the tens and hundreds of thousands with advertising budgets, editors and corporate ownership. I guess this only proves the old maxim, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Most bloggers are individuals, or like OWD a small group of individuals that BLOG for a variety of reasons. None of us are getting rich and that is not our intent. Instead, we speak out from the heart and mind, in hope that our message will be heard. If the internet had been available in the 18th century, I firmly believe that Thomas Jefferson would have rocked the blogosphere with “We hold these truths to be self evident.” Truth, like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder. The typical internet surfer is presented with a dilemma akin to a small child in a candy store. They may at first be attracted to the glitzy display of popular sugar-coated delights, but occasionally will stumble upon the perfect confection in the back of the store. One taste of a truth they recognize to be their own, and they will always return. This is the blogger’s dream. |
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Contributed by The Gray Dog on August 16, 2006 at 11:59 AM in , , , | Comments Posted by: I'll hang it at the top of the site tomorrow. Cut-off time for my selection is usually about noon. Excellent post. Posted by: | Aug 13, 2006 3:49:15 PM Posted by: Excellent analysis. I'm glad you're in our pack, and not on the other side. Posted by: | Aug 14, 2006 3:07:33 PM Posted by: Russ Woof, Woof, Gray Dog. While reading your excellent post an image popped into my brain of a pack of mutts chasing a network news satellite truck down the street. Posted by: Russ | Aug 15, 2006 10:57:39 AM Posted by: Russ Woof, Woof, Gray Dog. While reading your excellent post an image popped into my brain of a pack of mutts chasing a network news satellite truck down the street. What we lack in sophistication we make up with enthusiasm. Posted by: Russ | Aug 15, 2006 5:57:20 PM |