Blogs vs. the "Timid" Mainstream Media

Just a couple of points about Shear's colunn today, then a few comments on blogs vs. the "mainstream media" ("MSM").  First, we do not write "memos to one another," as Shear states.  Maybe that's what reporters at the Post do, and Shear is projecting, but honestly I have no idea what he's talking about.  True, sometimes there will be give and take on what someone has written, but doesn't that happen everywhere?  Overall, though, it seems to me that Virginia political bloggers write for an audience, probably averaging in the hundreds of "unique visitors" per day, per blog. 

Second, most of us do not live in "computerized isolation."  I, for one, have a "real" (40 hours per week) job, a wife, a house, friends, etc.  I also get out quite frequently to cover (and participate in) political events, including (a short list):  campaign kickoffs by Greg Werkheiser, David Bulova, and several others; the St. Patricks' Day Parade in Alexandria and the July 4th Parade in Lorton;  the Greenbrier debate; and the Obama-Kaine event in Arlington 1 1/2 weeks ago.  I also volunteered for the Englin campaign, spending from 6 AM until around 9 PM canvassing, poll greeting, and partying on Primary Day.  All in my spare time, by the way, since this is not my full time job like Michael Shear.  Doesn't sound like "isolation" to me!

Third, on the comment that "the blog news conference was, if anything, more civil than most of the question-and-answer sessions with...what bloggers sneeringly call the "MSM," I'm not sure if that's supposed to be a compliment or an insult.  Whatever it is, Shear sure seems defensive about the "sneering" criticism against the "MSM" - the Washington Post, for instance, where he works.  Oh, and by the way Mr. Shear, since you were there you should know that there were 6 bloggers with only 30 minutes to ask questions.  Personally, I decided not to ask followup questions or to press Governor Kaine because I wanted to make sure I didn't hog any more time than my own question and answer.  So, if I was polite to anyone, it was to my fellow bloggers, and I have a feeling the others might say the same. 

Anyway, all this "segues" (hey, I used a journalism word!) nicely into my "why blogs kick the MSM's butt" part of the post.  Here are a few talking points:

1) Political blogs, such as those in Virginia, are focused 24/7 on covering -- not surprisingly --  politics.  In Virginia, for instance, sites like Virginia 2005 Elections provide far better coverage of local races than you will EVER see in the Washington Post.  And the analysis at places like Bacon's Rebellion and Waldo Jaquith's blog, frankly, blows the pants off the "MSM" any day of the week, including Sundays.

2) Virginia political blogs allow for detailed, repeat, follow-up posts on important topics that the MSM either a) doesn't cover; or b) covers only superficially.  For instance, Waldo Jaquith's amazing series of articles on Virgil Goode and MZM, or the in-depth scrutiny to where politicians are getting there money by bloggers like Kenton Ngo and our own coverage of the "money men" behind the campaigns.  I'd love to see this in the "MSM," but I almost never do.  Why not?

3) Virginia political bloggers cover stories that the MSM simply ignores, like a detailed examination of campaign finance data from the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP), various Jefferson-Jackson Dinners, the Virginia Grassroots Coalition Summit, and much more.  The bottom line is this:  if you only read the MSM, you will have no idea that any of these events even took place, let alone get any information or detail about them. 

4) Despite the fact that bloggers - Virginia and elsewhere -  overwhelmingly hold down "day jobs" and are generally non-"J School" grads who do this as a labor of love (and fun), they manage to scoop the MSM regularly.  Take the whole the Jeff Gannon/Guckert scandal, or the Eason Jordan affair.  Bloggers blew all these stories - and many more - wide open.  Where was the MSM, for instance, when a White House "reporter"/gay male escort with the pseudonym "Jeff Gannon" was attending daily White House press briefing? 

5) I would just point out that the "MSM" routinely allows high-ranking officials to get away with some real whoppers, like "Weapons of Mass Destruction" in Iraq, or a Saddam-9/11 link.  Perhaps my memory is failing me, but I honestly can't recall much serious, critical, investigative reporting in the Washington Post leading regarding Bush Administration claims about Iraq leading up the war there.  Even the Post's own Howard Kurtz had a blistering, front-page story that was highly critical of the paper's pre-war coverage.  Post legend Bob Woodward was quoted in that story as saying, "We did our job but we didn't do enough, and I blame myself mightily for not pushing harder."  Could this be, perhaps, because of timidity by the MSM?  In fact, through the entire Bush Administration, I think many of us on the left side of the blogosphere would ask:  where on earth has the MSM been, and why on earth hasn't it been asking the tough questions it's trained to ask?  What, in other words, is the MSM afraid of?  Getting cut off from even the few crumbs of spin-laden "information" the White House chooses to give them?  Hmmmm....

Anyway, the overall point here is not to bash the MSM, simply to point out that it needs to be a lot less, well, TIMID than it has been in recent years.  And, of course, there is a rapidly growing role for the blogs ("citizen journalists").  If the MSM sees blogs as a threat to their existence, sorry to say, perhaps that's largely justified.  Perhaps it's a result of the MSM becoming -- with exceptions, of course -- complacent, fat and lazy in recent years.  Into that vaccum has rushed a feistier breed called bloggers, with more freedom in large part because (to paraphrase Janis Joplin) they have less to lose.  However, "feisty" does NOT mean "irresponsible" or "rude," just rough-and-tumble journalism like it used to be practiced in this country long before the term "MSM"came into existence.

Interestingly, even the MSM has joined the blog bandwagon, partly as a desperate attempt to reverse circulation declines as readers migrate rapidly to the blogs to get their news.  My guess is that this trend will continue, and that the line between MSM and blogs will continue to blur until, some day soon, you won't be able to tell the difference.  The only question is whether or not this is a good thing or not.  That's a topic for another day, however, and possibly another Michael Shear column.  :)

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