We need a 'Blog Czar' to bring order to this nasty business. I'm going to write my congressman.

The beauty of the internet...why the hell do blogs need rules?

Let the people decide what to read and not read. If it sucks and looks like bad journalism--quit reading/watching (see CBS for example :-) ) If it doesn't...link it, write about it, read it.

Blogs that spread lies/misinformation are no different than the other million websites out there doing the same thing (and there are plenty).

Blogs are:

* 'opinion' as opposed to 'reality' based, nothing more, nothing less.

* not supposed to be devoured and considered a sole source of information - particularly political information. That's why newspapers are made of paper - quite simply so they can be read, processed by the reader and thrown out.

* the true American voice (as radical and freaky as it appears at times)

* a good alternative to hidden bias in the network and cable news stations. I always get a kick out of liberals bashing Fox - why? They are what they say they are - it's no secret.

* an inexpensive hobby where people can either identify with one another or incessantly bitch about anything they want. It's fantastic.

* complete with a scrollbar, so that the reader can choose to read the comment, or simply scroll right past it without a second thought (unusual, but it happens)

The real question is where exactly they've arrived at; are we journalistic minor leaguers or a new form of citizen journalist?

Neither. You've merely arrived at the point where the msm and academics deny you participation in silly conferences where they will discuss what a threat you are to serious journalism and how they must contorl your. hth

This reminds me of the way in which some Islamic conferences, propaganda-factories and think-tanks have told "Western Countries" how to change their ways to incorporate the backward Islamic fundamentalist thinking/mindset.

Um... no. We'll keep doing what we're doing. Feel free to fragment and fall apart as the Old Way Of Doing Things becomes less and less practical.

Oh God, amen Drew.

These are blogs, folks. Opinions. We're not changing the world, we're not inventing new world policies. They're diaries, opinions, re-hashing of ideas already out there. Let's all box up our egos and admit-it's a blog. It's not a religion.

Kevin,
Why the hell would anyone who started out blogging as a non-journalist, as just a regular person who was sick of the bias and the Blog platform enabled him/her to speak back, want to call themselves a "journalist"?

Consider what "journalist" has largely come to mean in this day and age.

I cannot begin to fathom how easy Journo School must be. I mean, what, you re-learn middle school grammar, get taught some interesting semantical tricks and you're basically on your way. Oh yeah, don't forget how to write the perfect footnote and bibliography. Jesus, don't ever screw either of THOSE up.

It's ridiculous. No one needs a degree in Journo to have integrity of objectivity, and it seems today, judging by the relative degree of this trait displayed by the largest names in Journo, that they collectively stopped teaching this most important subject about 40 years ago.

I started reading blogs PRECISELY because the people writing WEREN'T journo's. It's akin to running around in a dark room and having somebody else strike a match. You look around and you see all these other people just like you, thinking and doing exactly what you are, and realizing that you are not alone.

This is the power, the allure, the promise of Blogs. "Hey, I really wasn't crazy when I thought that...."

The 'sphere is SELF-REGULATING...."we don' need no steenkeeng batches!"

smythe out

Another thing to note is that while we are able to do some research etc. A lot of news blogs would not exist without main stream media.

Actually the interview with Michael Powell brought up the fact that if it wasn't for the FCC, how could "a internet blogger put so much pressure on CBS".....which made me think of you Kevin and Paul and it's important that you guys just keep doing what you are doing because YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE AND IT'S BEING NOTICED.

Cindy

I can boil this whole problem down to one word:

Money.

Yes folks, it's all about the good ole fashioned greenback. They're not making it anymore. Blogs have turned the news world upside down and inside out. I've seen stories online that took the MSM a day to get too.

"So, I'm like watching the news, and like, something came up, that I like, totally saw online 3 days ago..."

I mean, geez people, Blogs are re-writing the play book for the MSM. They don't like it, they're losing money because of the popularity of blogs.

It's sad really. That these multi-billion dollar companies are being brought to their knees, by a few individuals. Rathergate is a prime example of this. A few people did a little research, used a little common sense, and posted about it in an extremely public forum. I mean the numbers show that more and more people are using the Internet. It's become a way of life for the average person.

Now they're all bitchy, pissy, and whiney, because they got called out and busted up, then had to have dental implants to replace their missing teeth.

Rules?
That's easy:
Rule 1: Be accurate.
Rule 2: Correct mistakes, when found.

You follow those rules right there, and you'll be fine I think. If you spew nonsensical rhetoric, and refuse to correct it. Well, you're going to be labeled as a trouble maker, moron, and several other names I can think of. No one will read you, no one will trust your reporting. Basically you are going to go down the drain.

Now I know what you're all thinking... KoS... Yep, but from what I have observed, they seem to intentionally pander to the less than mentally stable and to those that the vast majority of people would consider dumb as a stump. I guess in a way, KoS is a good example of what not to do with a blog.

Anyways, I've ranted enough.

P.S. Formalizing FCC regulations for blogs has got to be one of the most preposterous things I've ever read about. Next thing you know, we're not going to be able to speak our mind...

What a swell 24-hour (pajama) party this is! One needn't waste time driving there, or spend money dressing up or buying party drinks and snacks, and no problems between smokers and non-smokers. And when one becomes familiar with various commenters, it's like staying in touch with old friends in a continuing, unfolding conversation from thread to thread. A meeting of minds (at least here - elsewhere I've seen a meeting of lower extremities).

Darby, Capt. Smythe, Laurence, Julie, Cindy & Jeremy: all your comments - so true! And PTJ: Thanks for the humor!

Pylorns: Yes and no. We can get real news from all over the world from unpaid citizen observers without MSM agendas, wherever there is internet availability. The tsunami coverage was much better on the internet than in the MSM. I get a better view of what's happening in Zimbabwe from an old friend via e-mail than from the MSM.

It would still be nice to turn on the TV and get reliable news, but if they continue to skew it, the only news will be that they lied again. Once recognized by the majority of viewers, debunking the false stories would become redundant, boring and could lead to the MSM's disappearance as a new source. Rathergate was so obvious that it has discredited many past and current MSM stories, not only CBS. No one believes it was a "one-time slip" by one outlet only.

Helen and Drew - there sure are a lot of opinions, which is fine. Usually, I try to post 90% fact and 10% analysis from my viewpoint, to connect the dots in the facts.

Cindy - I found Michael Powell's quote on Cavuto 1/21/05:

[By Michael Powell, FCC Chairman]

*****

"If you look at the Internet and the role that it played in the election and the political campaign, if you look at the fact that an Internet blogger can bring challenge to a network as formidable as CBS, you realize that more and more democratization of technology is leading to strong consumer value and that's what we're most proud of. And that's what we really wanted to focus our agenda on."

****

No offense BR, but essentially you just another stranger on the Internet.

I have no way of knowing where or how you or any other personality here get their facts, and I'm not really concerned about it. I don't really pay much attention to posts that are clipped from another source unless it's directly addressed to me, and even then, it often difficult to verify. So the reason I visit blogs is to hear the attitudes and opinions on various topics as opposed to reading it as 'fact'.

I don't claim to know anything at all, particularly about politics, and I don't expect to encounter especially accurate information on blogs. The reason I like Wizbang, for example, is because of the variety of different topics, which often make me laugh uncontrollably. I'm also a regular to 1 or 2 blogs who are clearly left, but I find myself visiting them less and less lately because, well they are sore losers which might explain why they are starting to lack anything interesting at all besides endless discussion about Social Security - *yawn*.

As far as analysis goes, I don't know about anyone else, but I'd rather hear two people go at it in a blog over something totally trivial than listen to someone like Bill O'reilly talk about himself for 45 minutes.

The bloggers have definitely won - even Michael Powell has said so, so be proud guys, you've done great work!!

Cindy