Blogger are influentials, or not
by henrycopelandMonday, July 19th, 2004
Chicago Tribune: “Many people don’t take into account how influential bloggers are,” said Carol Darr, director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet at George Washington University. “Blogs are getting an increasing readership. People who are going to those blogs are real political junkies who can then reach everybody else.”
But Alex S. Jones, director of the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, sees only bad news in blogging: “bloggers, with few exceptions, don’t add reporting to the personal views they post online, and they see journalism as bound by norms and standards that they reject. That encourages these common attributes of the blogosphere: vulgarity, scorching insults, bitter denunciations, one-sided arguments, erroneous assertions and the array of qualities that might be expected from a blustering know-it-all in a bar.”
Funnily enough, Jones doesn’t do any reporting or offer any evidence in his own little bout of “scorching insults, bitter denunciations, one-sided arguments, erroneous assertions and the array of qualities that might be expected from a blustering know-it-all in a bar.”
Et tu, Mr. Jones?
July 20th, 2004 at Jul 20, 04 | 12:34 am
Et tu? Jones’s assertion is that the blogosphere generally is characterised by those who positively reinforce (possibly erroneous) arguments of a blogger because the blogosphere inherently attracts those of a like mind. That doesn’t need additional reporting because the space in which that citation was reported required neither evidence nor feedback. It falls to the blogosphere itself to correct, alter or add comments to this assertion. Where sufficient and significant reporting and evidence arise to alter this perspective, such may be worth adding to the view. But given the citation is dated and current at the time of publication, it would be irresponsible to revise history.
I am an advocate of the value of the blogosphere. But I am concerned that blogging companies are becoming evangelists for a cause that has yet to prove its worth. Just be very careful about making accusations about mainstream press when the press operate on different parameters from the blogosphere - or you will risk seeming ridiculous.
Joanne Jacobs
http://joannejacobs.net/
July 20th, 2004 at Jul 20, 04 | 1:57 pm
Hi Joanne — thank you for stopping by.
Though Jones was writing an op/ed, good argumentative form — not to mention journalistic standards — demands some modicum of research and evidence, particularly since he’s tarring a huge cohort of people as evidenceless blowhards.
Moi? Although a mere blogger, I did my research and, in the space of a few minutes and lines, offered concrete evidence of the phenomena that peeved me. Which is to say that I read Jones’ article, made a statment of fact (”no evidence or reporting”) and quoted him. With days at his disposal, millions of blogs to cite and a full column in the LATimes, surely Jones might have risen to the same standard?