Reader Posts
« previous | TPM CAFÉ READER POSTS HOME | next »
Blogging as part of the media
I'm a sociology major at the University of Vermont in Burlington. For a class on the media and its role in society, I'm am focusing my final project on news blogging.
In my view, blogging has become an increasingly important factor in the media's role in supporting our democracy. An example that you all are probably familiar with is this site's role in uncovering the attorney-firing scandal. Not only was blogging able to bring the the firings to the attention of many people, it was able to bring it to the attention of the mainstream media which, in turn, led to some amount of response from the government.
The exchange of information between many people was able to accomplish what professional journalists were not.
Whether you agree with my ideas or not, I would love to hear from any and all that have opinions on this issue. There couldn't be a more appropriate forum for this topic.
Thanks
Comments (5)
It's a great subject to study. Here are some of my comments from another post:
Blogs are a modern day "checks and balances" on the MSM.
It is harder to become well-informed with traditional passive media forms. With the web, though, we can now interact with the news and unearth the truth or at least access varied opinions more readily.
With so much information, it's necessary for every reader to become investigative journalists in a way. Others have mentioned this.
Aside from the attorney scandal reported on TPM, look at the lead Glenn Greenwald took on FISA and the issue of telecom immunity. What would have otherwise been a quiet issue became a highly contested, very public issue and I have to believe that the raised awareness contributed in part to the democratic opposition to telecom immunity.
This wider access to the truth has caught the Bush administration off guard. (If you'll allow the understatement.)
Most of those in the administration were in government back in the 1960s. That's the media environment they knew. They didn't realize how much changed in 50 years and they found themselves vulnerable, and their only way to control the flow of information was to assert executive privilege. And of course, to "lose" 2 years worth of emails.
Of course, misinformation can flow as freely as information on the internet.
So I think the next big web tool will be a news verifiability filter.
Imagine if google offered a setting that only returned results that went through a kind of credibility filter--an instant cross-reference check that includes 5 or 10 highly- verifiable sources.
That would save us all so much time.
April 3, 2008 7:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Talking Points Memo is a really good example to use - not only were they the ones to break the U.S. attorney scandal story (which won them a Polk - only blog to win the award) but the method of keeping up with the news at TPM is revolutionary. Having the readers monitor local news and other blogs allows them to keep up (and usually keep ahead of!) the major media outlets. That's pretty crazy if you assume places like CNN have huge staffs and TPM has I think like, 10 guys in a room. (Not really sure on that number, I could be WAY off.)
I was thinking how weird it is the other day that people actually get paid to sit around and write a blog all day. (Not that it doesn't take an arduous amount of time keeping up with all the news - I'm sure it's regularly longer than an 8-hour-day! But it's still weird.
April 3, 2008 8:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Also, if you need stats:
Recent poll that noted over half of Americans don't trust the mainstream media:
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=878
And a poll about the number of Americans who read blogs:
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=879
I tend to think that if the mainstream media doesn't do a major re-tool and do something to regain the trust that's been lost, more and more people will turn to online news sources like TPM.
April 3, 2008 8:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
I've read this site for years and never felt compelled t jump into a comment chain before. I think it's a great topic, blogs always reminded me most of the old pre-evolutionary pampleteers, so there is a rich tradition for them.
I jumped in because I wanted to remind you of the amazing work Marcy Wheeler did during the entire Valerie Plame thing, from her outing through live-blogging the Libby Trial. Marcy and Jane Hamsher of FDL did an absolutely bang up job at that trial. So excellent that most of the big box reporters covering it, checked in with Marcy and Jane every day to get their takes. And Judge Reggie White actually mentioned them. Marcy also wrote a book about it called "Anatomy of Deceit." I'm sure FDL's archives will have the transcripts from the live-blogging.
Don't forget the great work Scott Horton of Harper's did on the Seligman miscarriage of justice also. And BradBlog still continues to do the really tough work of making sure our elections are honest.
Good luck with your project, and please journal about your findings.
April 3, 2008 10:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Some people may overstate or understate the power of blogs in our media environment. Certain blobs, like TPM, have gone a long way to holding media responsible for the way they cover many topics, from the war to government scandals.
TPM's influence on the attorney firings is the best encapsulation of what should be a broader trend.
April 6, 2008 9:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
Post a Comment