There’s something frankly creepy about the explosion we now call the blogosphere — the big-bang “electroniverse” where recently wired squatters set up new camps each day...Each time I wander into blogdom, I’m reminded of the savage children stranded on an island in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Without adult supervision, they organize themselves into rival tribes, learn to hunt and kill, and eventually become murderous barbarians in the absence of a civilizing structure.
Let me guess. The "civilizing structure" would be Kathleen. Apparently she is unaware that running naked through the forest is not only serious business, it's loads of fun. She should try it sometime. It might loosen her up a little. She continues:
Drive-by pundits, to spin off of Rush Limbaugh’s “drive-by media,” are non-journalists who have been demonizing the media for the past 20 years or so and who blame the current news crisis on bias.
There is surely room for media criticism, and a few bad actors in recent years have badly frayed public trust. And, yes, some newspapers are more liberal than their readership and do a lousy job of concealing it.
Where do I start with this? There was a time, not so long ago, when one who worked for a newspaper was called a reporter. A journalist is something different. Journalism, so I'm told, allows for perceptions and feelings. And guess what Kathleen; your feelings are of no more consequence than those of any blogger picked at random. As for "a few bad actors"; how about a whole troupe? The players in Washington may seem Shakespearean to you, but from this distance it looks like yet another high school performance of "Harvey". And who needs to pay for liberal opinion? It's in the ether. I would pay to escape it, but not to read it. She continues:
But the greater truth is that newspaper reporters, editors, and institutions are responsible for the boots-on-the-ground grub work that produces the news stories and performs the government watchdog role so crucial to a democratic republic.
Yes, about that crucial "watchdog role", where were you when the current mess was developing? How about the mess before this one? As I recall, wasn't that you in the comfy chair licking your ass? It's time you put that "boots-on-the-ground grub work" ethic to practical use and sniff out a new business model.
If the Gazette Journal folded tomorrow, Anjeanette Damon would still have a job. Why? Because she is in demand from people like me. And when it comes to Ms. Damon, there are a lot of people like me. We would search her out, find her new venue, and continue as before. As for the Washington troupe, just look for the room with the comfy chairs.
God, I love blogging.
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