With apologies to Truman Capote, CBS News writer Eric Engberg says blogging during the election was typing, not journalism:
The public is now assaulted by news and pretend-news from many directions, thanks to the now infamous “information superhighway.” But the ability to transmit words, we learned during the Citizens Band radio fad of the 70’s, does not mean that any knowledge is being passed along. One of the verdicts rendered by election night 2004 is that, given their lack of expertise, standards and, yes, humility, the chances of the bloggers replacing mainstream journalism are about as good as the parasite replacing the dog it fastens on.
Comments
2 responses to “Blogs no threat to mainstream media (CBS news)”
Well, as a journalist (and former CBS employee) who has just recently jumped onto the blogging bandwagon, I would still have to agree that, as far as informing the public about the important issues of the campaign, bloggers did not provide a significant source of news or analysis. (Traditional media did not do much better.) Where the bloggers did make their impact was in “spin”. Bloggers became both “experts” and “ordinary citizens” cited on the radio and on 24-hour cable news channels, their comments being aped by the partisan talking-heads who fronted radio and television programming.
It was always a stretch to call Matt Drudge a journalist, but at least he had gossip no one else did. It’s an even farther stretch to call most bloggers journalists, to judge by their performance “covering” the recent election.
Thanks for the great point of view! :)
Regards,
Nikole