Citizen Journalists–Thankfully here to stay
Hollywood had some ceremony involving statuettes. Nobody of consequence cares. Now on to serious business.
Several days ago, a blogger won a journalism award. The fellow is Joshua Micah Marshall, and his site is Talking Points Memo.
I want to make it clear that I had never heard of this fellow or his website, and I personally found the story that he won his award for to be a completely worthless non-story. Having said that, I am still pleased that he won an award, and am thrilled that the “mainstream media” is upset about this.
One hostile newswoman derided the entire blogosphere as “people sitting around in their pajamas, sipping coffee, and typing.” This “pajamas” slur has been around for several years. In fact, one particular website that does political news decided to call itself “Pajamas Media.” Make no mistake about it. It is a solid site. www.pajamasmedia.com
The bottom line is that liberal elitists will not acknowledge the dignity and relevance of ordinary people. They are classless, unrefined, untrained peasants, and bloggers are one step away from being homeless people. They are certainly not “real” journalists.
First of all, I want to make some disclosures. This already separates me from the mainstream media, which seems to often “forget” to disclose key facts.
I do not have a journalism degree. I have never gone to journalism school.
I have never claimed to be an ” investigative reporter” in the sense that I do not spend my time trying to break news stories. My column contains a heavy dose of opinion, and that opinion is biased. Human beings have biases, and unlike the mainstream media, I admit my bias upfront, loudly and proudly. I do not pretend to be neutral just because I have a name people have read before.
So how can I possibly analyze world events without a journalism degree? Simple. I have a brain. I am capable of logical reasoning. Most humans come equipped with this. It does not take an advanced degree from a top university, although I do possess one. Long before I graduated high school, my brain allowed me to filter quality intelligent thought from utter garbage. Most people have this ability.
My last disclosure is that I have never been in my pajamas when writing a column. I have a full time job. I am gainfully employed, a Vice President at a brokerage firm. I wear a suit and tie. Then after my paying job, I come home in the evening, and type my column. I then wait until the next day to publish my column, because facts can change overnight.
What I am saying, without any humility, is that my column is better than the Jayson Blair Times, formerly known as the New York Times.
The JBT has a larger readership, but it had a 100 year start on me. It has also gotten stories wrong much more than I have. When I am wrong, I am prepared to print a large retraction, not hide behind fine print on a back page.
I do research. I make sure that I can verify what I write. I make sure that my sources are credible. This is simple ethics. It should not require anything other than a moral conscience.
Being politically liberal does not automatically make the Jayson Blair Times a failure as a media entity. What makes it so awful is that it repeatedly gets stories wrong. It does so shamelessly. I would be embarrassed if my track record was that dreadful.
I also prefer quality topics. “Real” reporters this week will be focusing on Hollywood celebrities walking down a red carpet. Their clothing, who they are squiring, which drugs they are ingesting, and what they think about everything and anything, will be repeated ad nauseum. Now ordinary people understand that the least consequential people on Earth offering uninformed opinions on random topics is not actual news. It is certainly not “informative,” unless the goal is to prove that famous people can be as useless as the average person. Yet the people interviewing these parasites are considered “reporters,” covering “news.”
The blogosphere has allowed ordinary people to try and get information on world events that actually do matter. Yes, bloggers can be as narcissistic as any other group of people, but there are some high quality blogs out there that break real stories.
Matt Drudge broke the Monica Lewinsky story, showing that a President lied under oath, a violation of the Constitution. The mainstream media decided it was only about sex. Yet the mainstream media had no problem reporting sex “scandals” that were not scandals at all, which meant that the victims of the false charges were republicans.
My column has a purpose. It is to end ideological bigotry, and to advance a conservative republican agenda. Others disagree with my purpose, and they are given more freedom to express that dissent then any republican would have trying to convince a liberal mainstream media outlet to be fair and openminded.
The blogosphere has been successful because the mainstream media has repeatedly abused the public trust. Printing stories from tainted sources, using memos that were “fake but accurate,” and refusing to apologize or rectify mistakes in a timely and fair manner have buried these institutions under an avalanche of their own lying rot.
I became a blogger reluctantly. I am glad I did, and am proud of my work. I may never be as big as the Jayson Blair Times, but I pray I never become as disgusting.
I was on the radio for 15 years, including a respected radio station in Hollywood. Not one time did I compromise my integrity to try and get higher ratings. Quality always superseded sensationalism.
This is how my blog will avoid giving in to “Tabloid Journalism.” Then again, I have read the National Enquirer. It often gets stories before “mainstream” papers, and it is forced to issue fewer retractions. Tabloid is a relative term.
If the mainstream media did not destroy itself by becoming a bunch of colossal screwups, the blogosphere would not be where so many people go to get information.
So yes, even a liberal blogger writing a non-story winning a journalism award is a cause for celebration. Conservative bloggers should not expect to win anything. Liberals give each other awards, and I as a conservative know that awards are nothing but bragging rights. I won the 2007 Bloggers Choice Award for Most Passionate Fan Base. I am qualified to say that besides sitting above my tv, it has not given me a raise at work, improved the taste of food, or made one girl have a louder orgasm in my presence, be it real or fake. It feels good. That is nice. Yet it will not allow me to relax. There is plenty of work to do.
Make no mistake about it. Citizen Journalists are here to stay. We should all be thankful for this. More sources of information is not a threat to democracy. More sources of information is democracy.
eric
February 25th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Eric.
Its just too bad that most of these citizen journalists wont hold themselves to the same level of responsabilty and quality that you have.
The blogosphere has also made it abundantly clear just how many liars are out there.
“The bottom line is that liberal elitists will not acknowledge the dignity and relevance of ordinary people. They are classless, unrefined, untrained peasants, and bloggers are one step away from being homeless people. They are certainly not “real” journalists.”
I find this statement to be particularly interesting since there is no doubt that the majority of hateful and disengenuous blogs out there are coming from the far left.
The far right blogs in no way compare to the nastiness accomplished by the far left blogs.
If you want to see classless, unrefined all you have to do is go to the KOS or the Huffington post. Yes, they have trained journalists, but that does not stop the malicious content, outright lies and bias from happeneing.
February 25th, 2008 at 11:07 am
The point I forgot to mention is that these elitest liberals have no problem letting these so called classless and unrefined writers be a mouthpiece for them.
February 25th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Eh. Conservative pundits are just as hard on bloggers as libs. Conservative blogs can be just as nasty and stupid as liberal blogs. I’ve never seen any correlation bewteen nastiness and political persuasion. I have noticed, anecdotally, that conservative blogs tend to require registration more often than liberal blogs, but I have no idea what the totals are.
Some conservative bloggers can be very nasty. There’s this one guy, the “Confederate Yankee” (the name alone really tells you all you need to know about this genius), who tried to get me in trouble at my work a couple years ago. Luckily the IT guys were buddies of mine and so he hit a firewall when he tried to contact my bosses. It wouldn’t have mattered if he did, but he was lying about me and hitting below the belt. One of the Hannity board moderators threatened to do that to me once as well, but never followed through, as far as I know. One guy, responding to a post I wrote on a thread personally threatened me and wanted to know where I lived so he could get me. I reminded him that he doesn’t know me and that for all he knows I could be psychotic murderer and that he should be a little more careful. I am almost 6′2″ and weigh about 220 lbs and I’m pretty fit and strong and an experienced fighter. But that’s not the point. The point is that one should be careful about threatening on the web. One never knows, after all. I never heard from that loony again.
Conservative bloggers are often male and very macho. Macho guys can get heated-up quick. Liberal bloggers tend to be more laid-back. Religious Right bloggers can often be very militant in their positions and can get very angry very quick. And whatever you do - be careful talking about Israel! That subject can often provoke instant irrationality and anger. Say one bad thing about Israel, and you’re tarred an “anti-semite.” Liberals are taking a lot of heat for this these days, which is an odd turn of events (in the past it was conservatives usually tarred with the epithet) and ironic in that Jews tend to be more liberal than gentiles.
I’ve been kicked out of pretty much every conservative blog I’ve visited, save for this one and couple others. There seems to be a little less debate on conservative blogs than on liberal blogs. In general conservatives seem to prefer agreement to debate - self-ratification. And so when you throw a stick in their spokes they can sometimes become angry, even vindictive.
But with all this said, I would imagine that generally conservative and liberal blogs are probably just as accurate, well-written, and civil as one another. And the professional media seems to be pretty much the same in their handling and coverage of the blogosphere, regardless of political bent. And when it comes to errancy among the pros, I seriously doubt the NYT is among the worst offenders. KOS and Huffington are liberal blogs, but they make no bones about it. You know where they’re coming from because they come right out and tell you. It’s not like they pretend to be unbiased. When it comes to accuracy, they are proably average to their genres.
JMJ
February 25th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
JMJ;
“I’ve been kicked out of pretty much every conservative blog I’ve visited, save for this one and couple others. ”
My point.
Conservatives dont tolerate the kind of over the top unsubstantiated vitriol that the far left likes to spew.
NYT is supposed to be professional. The McCian story put and end to that rumor.
If the most reckonized lib rag in the country does it I think its plausable to say that the novice writer would surley be just as persuadable to follow with the same tactics.A cursory tour of the blogodsphere will put to rest any doubts of my position that the far lefts blogs are far more viscious and inflammatory than the far right.
JMJ;
” I am almost 6′2″ and weigh about 220 lbs and I’m pretty fit and strong and an experienced fighter. But that’s not the point. ”
Then why did you bring it up ?
This is what the left does. Embellish things with irrelevant diatribe so as to inflame a situation that otherwise would never amount to squat.
Kinda like the Times.
February 25th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
I couldn’t agree with you more, Eric! And with Micky as well. And I love that line “Hollywood had some ceremony involving statuettes”! LOL! That’s exactly how I feel about it.
JMJ, I am a conservative female blogger and have never kicked anyone off of my blog if they are respectful. They can disagree with me all they like, but they aren’t allowed to swear or be obnoxious to either myself or my readers. I don’t tolerate behavior on my blog that I wouldn’t tolerate in my own home. I treat everyone with respect and expect it in return. I will agree that I do know of some conservative bloggers who don’t tolerate any disagreement whatsoever, either polite or otherwise, and will get rude and vindictive at the drop of a hat. There are extremists on both sides. It’s a shame, but I believe some bloggers use the internet to bully or attempt to intimidate others because they cannot get away with it in real life and they are bullies at heart. Don’t let your experience sour you on all apples in the cart because a few of them are rotten. I was driven to use comment moderation because of trolls linking to porn sites. Yuck!
Blessings to all here. Great post!
February 25th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Micky,
“Conservatives dont tolerate the kind of over the top unsubstantiated vitriol that the far left likes to spew.”
Oh puh-lease. People are people, Micky. Some people are more vitriolic than others. Political affiliation seems to have little to do with it. Look at my blog! I can be very vitriolic. But if you notice, when I’m here I tone it down out of respect for Eric because that’s the way he likes it. I try to follow the rules as best I can. Do you know why I got kicked off Hannity the first time? Because he was ranting about the French and I pointed out that he was hawking a French face cream on his radio show. That’s exactly the opposite of what you just said - he was being vitriolic and I was pointing out his hypocrisy. For that I was banned.
I won’t get into the NYT with you again. I know well how you feel.
“”I am almost 6′2″ and weigh about 220 lbs and I’m pretty fit and strong and an experienced fighter. But that’s not the point. ”
Then why did you bring it up?”
To further elaborate on what I was saying - that people should be careful about threatening other people on the web - ya’ never know who it is you’re threatening. This poor shuck might have gotten hi you-know-what kicked inside out had he actually found me! And I’m not a fair fighter. I don’t risk my pretty face for anything. He’d have met with a very unfortunate end had he carried out his threat. You have to be careful about threatening and internet punking.
“JMJ, I am a conservative female blogger and have never kicked anyone off of my blog if they are respectful. They can disagree with me all they like, but they aren’t allowed to swear or be obnoxious to either myself or my readers.”
Well, then I’ll come by and pay a visit sometime. I love a good debate.
“…I believe some bloggers use the internet to bully or attempt to intimidate others because they cannot get away with it in real life and they are bullies at heart. Don’t let your experience sour you on all apples in the cart because a few of them are rotten. I was driven to use comment moderation because of trolls linking to porn sites. Yuck!”
Yeah, the porn spoams are just really nasty and lowbrow. Creepy. I have nothing against porn in general, but to go around spamming it on unsuspecting people is just plain creepy. And yes, internet bullying is a real problem. I wish people would behave better. And yes, I have no illusion about the blogosphere - there are good and bad and indifferent out there just like everywhere else. I would never make the leap that “all” of anything is one way or the other. In life I have found that most things have their shades gray.
Great comment, by the way. I look forward to paying you a visit. I’m pressed for time at the moment though as I have company for the week.
Ciao, JMJ
February 25th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Oh, and by the way - I am also not the least bit pleased with the Times for releasing that McCain story. The story had no substance worth printing. I don’t know what they were thinking. Either there was some kind of illegal shenanigans going on or there wasn’t. I don’t care a whit whether he slept with the lady or not and apparently neither McCain nor the Iseman intend to ever let us know. The Times had better show us some substance here or they should retract and apologize. I enjoy the NYT and find it the best paper in the country, but they tick me off sometimes too. No paper is perfect, and personally I find them a little conservatively bent, as funny as I bet you guys think that is.
JMJ
February 25th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
JMJ;
“This poor shuck might have gotten hi you-know-what kicked inside out had he actually found me! ”
Could of worked out the other way just as well.
Which is my point.
The left seems to assume a whole lot of stuff they cant verify.
The Iguana pulled that crap on your blog with me by questioning my physical prowess for some reason. Stupid, totally absolutly stupid.
Yea Jersey, people are people.
but the people on the far left are a breed apart.
The best example would be the tactics used in public demonstrations.
Throwing hissy fits with all the angry theatrics and disruptive childish behavior.
There are actually a ton of examples that will display how unhinged the far left is in comparison the far right.
PETA and all their blood throwing hysterical maneuvers. Code pink looking a hormonol circus on wheels making complete fools of themselves everywhere they go.
At congressional hearings and even in the face of Condi Rice.
crying for free speech and then not allowing free speech on campuses and public events by shouting down the guests as with the Marvin Stewart and minuteman incidents.
Funny, I can be just a nasty as the next guy but I have never been kicked off one blog.
I take that back. I was blocked from one site that was basically a cucumber eye patch and avocado face peel blog, I wont go into detail.
But I did withdraw my participation from a number of liberal blogs who were just plain fabricating and forging facts much in the style of Michael Moore. One site even went as far as to go into my comments and edit them to their favor so my arguement would look retarded.
Since its evident that the left deals more in the emotional aspect of any position than the right it would follow common logic that their arguments are usually made on the same basis.
And when we present facts, such as I have so many times with you.
The conversation quickly ends abruptly or escalates past the issue into personal and emotional attacks or issues that are irrelevant
February 25th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Hah !
Oreilly just showed 250 hollywood supporters for Obama.
And only one for McCain. ( Sly Stallone)
And if any part of America is responsable for irresponsable regurgitation its them.
Rosie, Alec, Sheen, Robbins, Penn, Sarandon and on and on.
Yep, the far left is on perfect display at none other than hollywood
Tell me that the drama isnt drawn to and used by the left !
February 25th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
“JMJ;
“This poor shuck might have gotten hi you-know-what kicked inside out had he actually found me! ”
Could of worked out the other way just as well.’
That was my point too, Micky. That’s why I said, “I am almost 6′2″ and weigh about 220 lbs and I’m pretty fit and strong and an experienced fighter. But that’s not the point.”
“The Iguana pulled that crap on your blog with me by questioning my physical prowess for some reason. Stupid, totally absolutly stupid.”
He was playing you, Micky. And that gets to this point that I brought here, “Conservative bloggers are often male and very macho. Macho guys can get heated-up quick.” He likes to heat-up conservatives. It is fun, after all.
Gotta run.
JMJ
February 25th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
JMJ
“He was playing you, Micky. And that gets to this point that I brought here, “Conservative bloggers are often male and very macho. Macho guys can get heated-up quick.” He likes to heat-up conservatives. It is fun, after all.’
Thats the point jersey. he couldnt handle the heat, so he quickly turned it into a question of my manlyhood . Which had nothing to do with the issue.
Much like you are doing with your last few posts. You have side stepped the issue of honesty in conversation and replaced with things that are of no relevance to the real issue here.
If you want to call cold hard facts “macho ” then so be it.
As far as fun goes.
There lays the big difference. You have said before that you blog for fun. And I suspect your lib blogger buddy Iguana does it for the same reasons.
I blog to make a difference.
And its not always fun for me. But do you know what motivates me when I just feel like I cant do it ?
The far left crap out there.
Its the main reason I started blogging.
When I first got this computer a year ago the first thing I did was go to the comments section on AOL news stories and saw all the radical left talking points on every subject. Man ! It was like ten to one ! For every far left loon there was only one on the right !
( Actually, the first thing I did was go look at hooters)
February 26th, 2008 at 6:09 am
Yeah, I blog to make a difference as well, which is why I prefer to blog with conservatives instead of other libs all the time. But I enjoy it as well, or else I probably wouldn’t bother and would just find some other way to do my little part. I’m a firm believer in liking what you do. People who don’t like what they do often don’t do it very well.
JMJ
February 26th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Kinda like communists. Depending on which end of the chain you’re at it can be alot of fun ?
February 26th, 2008 at 10:56 am
That’s a strange thing to add…
JMJ
February 26th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
JMJ;
“People who don’t like what they do often don’t do it very well.”
The only people in a communist society who do well are those at the top.
Did you see the video of the NY philharmonic playing in N. Korea ?
It was only for the elite. The rest of the country looked like an abandoned lot.