jackiedoherty.org

I have been thinking a lot lately about the attitude of journalists and the established media toward bloggers.  On the one hand, you have the newspapers trying to co-opt the blogging phenomenon by creating their own blogs, but on the other there is a not-so thinly-veiled tone of contempt or attempt to dismiss blogging in editorials and articles.  These range from the mildly-disapproving tone of Sven Birkerts of the Boston Globe in his July 29, article (“Lost in the Blogosphere“) to the latest editorial rant in the Lowell Sun. 

Certainly, blogs come in many shapes and sizes and should perhaps be approached with more caution than most media, but what is upfront about blogging is the bias – the blog exists for a purpose, to propound a certain world view and that purpose is up for discussion, along with all of the blog content.  The bias of an established media outlet is often much less apparent and in many cases is buried beneath a façade of journalistic integrity. 

After reading Birkert’s article in July, I was thinking about how news used to be disseminated.  People who wanted to get their view of events or opinions out would write pamphlets and broadsheets, often sensationalized, that were then as widely distributed as possible.  Just recently I heard the term “the new pamphleteers” applied to bloggers and ended up reading an interesting article on the topic (Kochan, Donald J., “The Blogosphere and the New Pamphleteers” . Nexus Law Journal, Vol. 11, 2006 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=908631).  In this article, Kochan cites “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine and “The Federalist Papers” as “revered” examples of pamphleteering in this country.  He goes on to equate blogging with pamphleteering as “an individual’s opportunity to introduce his ideas to the community.”  It’s extremely readable and well-reasoned and free on SSRN, so please check it out and let me know what you think!  Birkerts seems to fear the proliferation of ideas, the diffusion of our collective energies and the loss of accountability.  Yet, I submit that bloggers are highly accountable to their readers and more so because, as I stated above, their biases are out in the open.  And as those who blog understand, it takes discipline and consistency to maintain it so readers keep coming back.  Kochan makes the following point that responds to Birkerts’ fears:

…in the marketplace of information, the cream of the crop rises to the top.  That is why some blogs are merely rants or of interest to few that add little or no value, and others establish reputational value that leads to high visitation rates and wide attention.

I would add that some newspapers and other traditional media descend to the level of rants which may diminish their subscriber rates and the attention that is paid to them.