Daily Archives: 2011/12/05

The "Blogosphere"...

Not sure I’m comfortable with the mantle of author, or even writer, as has been bestowed upon me by some. Frankly, I don’t type very well and my spelling is questionable. Though I must admit I’m often disappointed when I read some of the major newspapers and see so many grammatical and spelling issues. It seems it was not like that in the days before electronic media, but I digress. In any event, I’ve been doing this for a bit now, more out of a sense of responsibility than anything else. Nonetheless, my following continues to grow and for this reason I will continue to grow.

I was listening to the radio recently, and caught an interview with Syndicated Columnist Froma Harrop. Now I have read some of her stuff and must tell you that she writes better than she interviews. With that said, and while I read her to be a bit more Left leaning than not, she made a very good point during the one on one. She noted that with the advent of the 24 hour news cycle as well as the ability of those who wish to opine so immediate and available, the facts are often jumbled, misrepresented and sometimes even omitted. Harrop elaborated on how it was becoming harder and harder for her as a print writer to keep up. This is interesting to me because I too feel pressure to get out the next blog post even though my efforts come down squarely in the modern media category. But I think I’ve developed a following more quickly than many other blogs out there because I do not jump on the story before I know the facts. This is certainly not to say I get it right all the time. Many of my readers remind of that every day. But it does lend some credibility to Harrop’s premise that there are major differences between “real journalism” and the “blogosphere”.

Now this also doesn’t mean that the so-called “main stream press” hasn’t taken a well-deserved hit in the credibility department recently. I think it’s even fair to say that we are witnessing the death of a free and unbiased press these days. Consequently, I am determined not to make this blog of mine a posting wall for my ideological ranting, and I have been quick to post “disclaimers” when I’m anticipating a “Right wing moment”. However, in an age of transformation and generational disconnect such as we are living in, I am happy to have both forms of media working in the arena of ideas. It is incumbent upon the “information consumer” however, to do his or her own due diligence before making a decision. There is simply no longer an excuse for not having enough information. “Trust but verify”…