Clueless is as clueless does. Uh, that would be the NYT.... again!
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Adam Cohen, writing in the New York Times, displays the most stunning ignorance of the blogosphere I've ever seen in 'print'.
His main complaint is that blogs lack ethics. He offers no specific examples of which blogs are guilty of the various shortcomings he describes so we must assume his accusations are across the board. To be fair, he does praise left wing blogs The Daily Kos ("brilliant") and Joshua Micah Marshall ("entertaining and influential") and gets a quick plug in for Ariana Huffington's future "all star" blog. On the other hand, he credits Drudge for "pushing stories". (Memo to Cohen: The Drudge Report is not a blog.)
Let's quickly address one of his more witless comments:
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"Many bloggers make little effort to check their information, and think nothing of posting a personal attack without calling the target first - or calling the target at all."
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He's trying to create the impression of blogs as being akin to The National Enquirer, of course. And I'll note that I didn't call Mr. Cohen before writing this. You see, I have his commentary before me now - he's on the record. That's what blogs do when dealing with media outrages, respond. I suppose I could contact him for clarification on this point: is he really clueless about the blogosphere, and therefore wrong in his accusations, or does he assume his readers are clueless, and is willing to deceive them? There's no other explanation for what follows.
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But more bloggers, and blog readers, are starting to ask whether at least the most prominent blogs with the highest traffic shouldn't hold themselves to the same high standards to which they hold other media.
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Mr. Rather's and Mr. Jordan's misdeeds would most likely not have landed them in trouble in the world of bloggers, where few rules apply.
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A patent deception. The blogosphere is self policing. Cohen's call for fixing a problem would be noble - if there was a problem to fix. But bloggers have less mercy on each other than they do on media types. Perhaps Cohen wants to create the deception that there's some unwritten rule to the contrary. If anyone can support his argument, please do. By the way, bear in mind that if you disagree with me in the comments or post your rebuttal on your own blog you're proving my point.
His premise falls flat. A series of accusations offered up without any evidence in support. His conclusion - invoking hypocrisy - is Orwellian:
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Before long, leading blogs could have ethics guidelines and prominently posted corrections policies.
Bloggers may need to institutionalize ethics policies to avoid charges of hypocrisy. But the real reason for an ethical upgrade is that it is the right way to do journalism, online or offline. As blogs grow in readers and influence, bloggers should realize that if they want to reform the American media, that is going to have to include reforming themselves.
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The blogosphere thrives because the mainstream media has failed to police itself. The blogosphere is self-policing and has been since day one - the endless variety of perspective, opinions, and voices ensures it. Cohen's effort to disparage those who are replacing him, to maintain some control of a dwindling readership and a diminishing importance is unsurprising but feeble. He's shouting against a rising tide; the days of the New York Times' ability to shape the news are fading fast.
In a related story
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Pope calls on media to report responsibly
Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday that the media can spread peace but also foment violence, and he called on journalists to exercise responsibility to ensure objective reports that respect human dignity and the common good.
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"These important tools of communication can favor reciprocal knowledge and dialogue, or on the contrary, they can fuel prejudice and disdain between individuals and peoples; they can contribute to spreading peace or fomenting violence."
As a result, Benedict called for members of the media to exercise "personal responsibility" to ensure objective reports that respect human dignity and pay attention to the common good.
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Heh. Indeed.
Update (Hat tip: Citizen Z link below):
Ouch! (Language warning.)
And there are great quotes at Rightwing Nuthouse (also linked below): "Whatever ethics we have, we bring to the table ready made, forged by our life experiences and upbringing." Something the Cohen types never consider. Read the whole thing, the last line especially is a must - I'm all for it.
More at LGF and Instapundit.
Something occurs to me late in the game: as more reporters learn they can get big hit counts on their otherwise unread pages by insulting bloggers will it become common practice? If so, is it ethical? I always wonder about this subject when Powerline links that hopeless putz at the Star-Tribune from time to time. Let's see if "blog-bashing editorials" (read that as "link begging editorials") become the next big thing for the fading mainstream.
Postscript: A Mother's Day hat tip to Mrs Greyhawk. Her daily Dawn Patrol roundups of news and commentary are the finest source of blogworthy material on the net.
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