Jospeh Rago takes the Blogosphere to task in the WSJ today in a piece called The Blog Mob.
On balance the piece read like a crusty old MSM version of Scrooge “humbugging” the whole blogging enterprise.
One line in particular stood out to me:
The larger problem with blogs, it seems to me, is quality. Most of them are pretty awful. Many, even some with large followings, are downright appalling.
That line is as applicable to newspapers as it is to blogs. Most major-market papers are mediocre and most small town papers range from amusingly bad to awful. I have watched many a TV news program and listened to many a talk radio show and found them to be “appalling” despite their ratings. There are a number of syndicated columnists that make me wonder how they got/keep their jobs. The notion that true quality is a limited commodity is not limited to blogging.
Further, he also notes:
The blogs are not as significant as their self-endeared curators would like to think. Journalism requires journalists, who are at least fitfully confronting the digital age. The bloggers, for their part, produce minimal reportage. Instead, they ride along with the MSM like remora fish on the bellies of sharks, picking at the scraps.
Apart from the unflattering metaphor, he has a point. Indeed, it is a point that has been made in the Blogosphere on multiple occasions. Indeed, whaddya know, I made that point here over a year ago, in response to another MSM anti-blogging screed. And, I am pretty sure I had made it before then in another post.
I find this amusing only because one of Rago’s major critiques about blogs is that they are about “right now”–well, Rago’s piece is most decidedly not about “right now” because his critiques are far from new, and his assertions far from original.
Specifically in regards to the “remora fish” business: doesn’t the MSM do much of the same thing, using AP and Reuters wire stories as the basis of much of their work? Yes, the major papers have their own reporters, but the locals are often just using wire stories. Where are Rago’s disparaging comments about that?
Still, most of us are more than aware that the main job of blogging is commentary, as well as editing (in the sense of deciding which stories to highlight).
(And is it just me, or does the piece read like he was trying really hard to work in literary references and impressive vocabulary words?)
Warner Todd Houston at NewsBusters has a nice response to the piece.
Sphere: Related ContentThe views expressed in the comments are the sole responsibility of the person leaving those comments. They do not reflect the opinion of the author of PoliBlog, nor have they been vetted by the author.
December 20th, 2006 at 10:28 am
As I’ve hinted in the context of the quest for an expansive “journalist-source privilege” comparable to attorney-client or physician-patient privilege, I think much of this indignation reflects a latent insecurity by some journalists regarding their status among the “elite” professions.
The simple truth is that the line between journalist and blogger is simply not that stark: Unlike law or medicine or other credentialed fields, anyone with enough money or connections can “do” journalism (e.g., Mort Zuckerman). No specific post-graduate training is required; there are no comprehensive exams; no mandatory continuing education, and no government-imposed ethics codes.
The “professional” journalist doth protest too much.
December 20th, 2006 at 1:24 pm
[...] Other blogger reactions: QandO; The Moderate Voice; PoliBlog; Ace Of Spades HQ; Polimom Says; Blue Crab Boulevard; Decision ‘08; The Astute Bloggers; Daily Pundit; Beltway Blogroll [...]
December 20th, 2006 at 2:51 pm
The Contempt Of Fools
We are less hurt by the contempt of fools than by the lukewarm approval of men of intelligence. Luc de Clapiers de Vauvenargues (1715-1747)
Read the incredibly pompous opinion in the Opinion Journal by Joseph Rago and see which category you…
December 20th, 2006 at 5:02 pm
[...] QandO, Ace of Spades HQ, Booman Tribune, MyDD, Riehl World View, Roger L. Simon, Joe’s Dartblog, NewsBusters.org, Ed Driscoll.com, Decision ‘08, Shakespeare’s Sister, EU Referendum, Gun Toting Liberal ™, PoliBlog ™, Fraters Libertas, protein wisdom, Polimom Says, The Moderate Voice, Beltway Blogroll, Daily Pundit, Balloon Juice, Seeing the Forest, snapped shot, BizzyBlog, Confederate Yankee, Blue Crab Boulevard, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, alicublog, Hot Air, Media Blog Written by Ron ChusidLast 5 posts by Ron ChusidThe Futility of Abstience Based Education - December 20th, 2006Robot Rights - December 20th, 2006Harry Reid’s Damage Control - December 19th, 2006Barack Hussein Obama and the Conservative Blogosphere - December 19th, 2006The Libertarian Party Must Die - December 19th, 2006 [...]
December 20th, 2006 at 5:14 pm
It’s damn nigh impossible to get a job in journalism, despite the fact that most newspaper writing is an assault on the English language. Yes, he was showing off his fancy vocabulary, and yes, most blogging is commentary, not reporting. Unfortunately, most reporting is conflict-mongering, not reporting.
December 23rd, 2006 at 11:43 am
[...] All the non-bloggers who simply don’t get it. (Also here). [...]