A recent Tacoma News Tribune ran an editorial last week caught my eye titled “Blogs VS Newspapers" written by David Sego. (Update 1/22/07. Apparently the TNT has moved the article. I'll try to find it and re-link it!)
TNT’s David Sego quoted a Wall Street Journal opinion writer, Jospeh Rago, who voices concern is that though blogs are a current, undeniable force, there appears to be a real problem with quality. (Here’s my opinion right now.) It must have been a while since Mr. Rago glanced at the tabloid rack next to the grocery check out line. Oh, sorry, he must have meant real newspapers like the Wall Street Journal!
Perhaps the article that appears in the TNT really addresses those blog writers that tackle the big political issues and who then discusses their viewpoint. To be fair, the first blog I had ever tapped into was “Power Line” through a link on the Internet. This Internet site was created by three Dartmouth grads, who as far as I know, do not get paid by a media syndicate. But you never know. They are getting a kick back from advertising now!
The gist of their blog seems to be a rehash of the news available through the American media chain, and then is filtered through their own dogma. How is this any different from the newspaper political editorials? I was fascinated by Power Line’s strength of conviction and the apparent depth of their understanding about what is going on in the news. Do I agree with everything they say? No more than I agree with our local newspaper columnists who write about similar issues. Do they reread what they have written and use spell check before they post? Absolutely.
Admittedly, I am no political pundit. I rarely have a strong political party stance and am the first to admit that I am woefully ignorant about the general machinations of our political system.
Mr. Rago, here’s the thing. I read blogs for an altogether different reason than you. I read them to get a taste of what an average person’s daily life is like in another country. I love to think about what someone with a sense of humor has written. I appreciate the angst that is out in blogs there also. Very little worth having is without struggle of some kind, and I am repeatedly touched by those who share their struggles.
Like you Mr. Rago, I’m easily bored with the badly written and the schmaltzy wedding and new baby blogs; the mySpace crowd that try to branch out and away from the mySpace format, but brings it along with them any way; the poets and the peep shows; the religious preaching. Sometimes, though, you’ll run across a gem that informs and entertains. Is it news? Not in any real media sense.
Do I need a media mogul to select what I should be reading? Not with the advent of the Internet. As always, I will glance through a newspaper as I come across it. I will read the elucidating editorials. I’ll admire the photos and cheer the good news and ponder the bad. But for an unfettered glance at the world, I’ll read the gritty blogs of people very much like me.
TNT’s David Sego quoted a Wall Street Journal opinion writer, Jospeh Rago, who voices concern is that though blogs are a current, undeniable force, there appears to be a real problem with quality. (Here’s my opinion right now.) It must have been a while since Mr. Rago glanced at the tabloid rack next to the grocery check out line. Oh, sorry, he must have meant real newspapers like the Wall Street Journal!
Perhaps the article that appears in the TNT really addresses those blog writers that tackle the big political issues and who then discusses their viewpoint. To be fair, the first blog I had ever tapped into was “Power Line” through a link on the Internet. This Internet site was created by three Dartmouth grads, who as far as I know, do not get paid by a media syndicate. But you never know. They are getting a kick back from advertising now!
The gist of their blog seems to be a rehash of the news available through the American media chain, and then is filtered through their own dogma. How is this any different from the newspaper political editorials? I was fascinated by Power Line’s strength of conviction and the apparent depth of their understanding about what is going on in the news. Do I agree with everything they say? No more than I agree with our local newspaper columnists who write about similar issues. Do they reread what they have written and use spell check before they post? Absolutely.
Admittedly, I am no political pundit. I rarely have a strong political party stance and am the first to admit that I am woefully ignorant about the general machinations of our political system.
Mr. Rago, here’s the thing. I read blogs for an altogether different reason than you. I read them to get a taste of what an average person’s daily life is like in another country. I love to think about what someone with a sense of humor has written. I appreciate the angst that is out in blogs there also. Very little worth having is without struggle of some kind, and I am repeatedly touched by those who share their struggles.
Like you Mr. Rago, I’m easily bored with the badly written and the schmaltzy wedding and new baby blogs; the mySpace crowd that try to branch out and away from the mySpace format, but brings it along with them any way; the poets and the peep shows; the religious preaching. Sometimes, though, you’ll run across a gem that informs and entertains. Is it news? Not in any real media sense.
Do I need a media mogul to select what I should be reading? Not with the advent of the Internet. As always, I will glance through a newspaper as I come across it. I will read the elucidating editorials. I’ll admire the photos and cheer the good news and ponder the bad. But for an unfettered glance at the world, I’ll read the gritty blogs of people very much like me.
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