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This page contains all of the posts and discussion on MemeStreams referencing the following web page: The New York Times - The Internet: Web Diarists Are Now Official Members of Convention Press Corps. You can find discussions on MemeStreams as you surf the web, even if you aren't a MemeStreams member, using the Threads Bookmarklet.

The New York Times - The Internet: Web Diarists Are Now Official Members of Convention Press Corps
by Decius at 10:21 am EDT, Jul 27, 2004

] "I think that bloggers have put the issue of
] professionalism under attack," said Thomas McPhail,
] professor of media studies at the University of
] Missouri-St. Louis, who argues that journalists should be
] professionally credentialed. "They have no pretense to
] objectivity. They don't cover both sides."

This article seems to be pissing people off. I think its good. If the press isn't spinning you you're not doing something useful.


 
RE: The New York Times - The Internet: Web Diarists Are Now Official Members of Convention Press Corps
by noteworthy at 5:39 pm EDT, Jul 27, 2004

Decius wrote:
] ] "I think that bloggers have put the issue of
] ] professionalism under attack," said Thomas McPhail,
] ] professor of media studies at the University of
] ] Missouri-St. Louis, who argues that journalists should be
] ] professionally credentialed. "They have no pretense to
] ] objectivity. They don't cover both sides."
]
] This article seems to be pissing people off. I think its good.
] If the press isn't spinning you you're not doing something
] useful.

This seems like a good time to mention some of my favorite Rumsfeld's Rules:

If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.

Don't divide the world into "them" and "us."

See more at

http://www.memestreams.net/thread/bid9836/

The idea that there are automatically two sides to every issue or problem is a conceit whose time has long since passed. The American tendency to indulge in this naivete is perhaps a consequence of the entrenched "two party system" in the US -- conveniently on display this week.

Those who follow politics around the world, in all its myriad complexity, must find this quite amusing.


 
RE: The New York Times - The Internet: Web Diarists Are Now Official Members of Convention Press Corps
by Vile at 4:58 am EDT, Jul 28, 2004

Decius wrote:
] ] "I think that bloggers have put the issue of
] ] professionalism under attack," said Thomas McPhail,
] ] professor of media studies at the University of
] ] Missouri-St. Louis, who argues that journalists should be
] ] professionally credentialed. "They have no pretense to
] ] objectivity. They don't cover both sides."
]
] This article seems to be pissing people off. I think its good.
] If the press isn't spinning you you're not doing something
] useful.

Okay, then George W. Bush, Paris Hilton, Scott Peterson, and Britney Spears are the most useful people in America. Give me a break. Bloggers are the kind of armchair media that turns the internet into a cybertower of babel. Can't wait till the terrorists nail our powergrids so I no longer have to listen to, or read, misinformation.


  
RE: The New York Times - The Internet: Web Diarists Are Now Official Members of Convention Press Corps
by Decius at 10:02 am EDT, Jul 28, 2004

Vile wrote:
] Okay, then George W. Bush, Paris Hilton, Scott Peterson, and
] Britney Spears are the most useful people in America.

More useful then either of us. Bush is running the government. Hilton and Spears are (apparently) entertaining. I'd almost argue that Peterson is as well. Why else do people pay attention to him. Its not like thats the only murder that has occurred this year. He is this season's goldstein.

] Give me a break. Bloggers are the kind of armchair media that turns
] the internet into a cybertower of babel. Can't wait till the
] terrorists nail our powergrids so I no longer have to listen
] to, or read, misinformation.

Then what are you doing here? I might suggest Dan Gillmore's new book. I haven't read it, but it does discuss the topic and why its important.

http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/wemedia/

Of course, there are simpler examples:

It's safe to assume that, before he flushed his reputation down the toilet, Trent Lott had absolutely no idea what a blog was.

He may have a clue now. Internet opinion pages like Instapundit, run by University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Reynolds, and Talking Points Memo, from leftie political columnist Josh Marshall -- were among the first to latch on to ABCNews.com's brief item on Lott's racist comments during Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday bash.

And they kept focusing on Lott's hateful past -- until the national press corps finally had to take notice.

"Joshua Marshall, whose talkingpointsmemo.com is must reading for the politically curious, (is) more than anyone else, responsible for making Trent Lott's offensive remarks the issue they deserve to be," noted Paul Krugman in his New York Times column.

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,56978,00.html


The New York Times - The Internet: Web Diarists Are Now Official Members of Convention Press Corps
by k at 11:15 am EDT, Jul 27, 2004

] "I think that bloggers have put the issue of
] professionalism under attack," said Thomas McPhail,
] professor of media studies at the University of
] Missouri-St. Louis, who argues that journalists should be
] professionally credentialed. "They have no pretense to
] objectivity. They don't cover both sides."

[ Bullshit. Fox, CNN, Gannett, The Times, The Post, and all the rest of the traditional (read: corporate) media have put professionalism under attack for years, particularly the last 5 or so. Mr. McPhail isn't wrong about the blogs being biased, and often less than attentive to opposing viewpoints. However, he seems to have founded his statement on the assumption that "professional" journalists, or the corporate filters they're forced to shovel their work through, DO produce balanced and objective work. They don't. By a large margin they don't. Every so often a gem is produced in which someone rediscovers the seed of Journalism and does their job, and we usually get it here on Memestreams as people find such highlights.

The assumption that professional "journalists" are doing their jobs, or being allowed to do their jobs, is about as dangerous as it gets. It's blind faith, and has no place here. The professionals may have the "pretense to objectivity," but it seems like all too often that's all it is, a pretense, a shield, belying the skew just beneath the surface. -k]


The New York Times - The Internet: Web Diarists Are Now Official Members of Convention Press Corps
by Rattle at 5:20 pm EDT, Jul 27, 2004

] "I think that bloggers have put the issue of
] professionalism under attack," said Thomas McPhail,
] professor of media studies at the University of
] Missouri-St. Louis, who argues that journalists should be
] professionally credentialed. "They have no pretense to
] objectivity. They don't cover both sides."

"These damn people with their own presses!"


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