« September 21, 2004 | Main
| September 23, 2004 »

September 22, 2004

Triumphalism or mere triumph?

: A few times today, I heard people say that blogs didn't really triumph over Dan Rather and CBS and that other news organizations (notably, ABC News) were on the story just like blogs were, and that all this required was some couch reporting in Microsoft Word isn't real reporting. nav 2005 subscription cd key

All that misses the point. nav 2005 subscription cd key

The point is that bloggers were heard. They (we) were heard right alongside Big Media. They (we) pushed Big Media hard. Attention was paid. Respect is due. The citizens spoke and the nation listened. That's the point. Citizens' media has arrived. And it's not leaving. nav 2005 subscription cd key

LINK | Comments (13)

Elevators go up and down

: Glenn Reynolds addresses the question of whether blogs are elevating the political debate. nav 2005 subscription cd key

I hesitate to get into this because I haven't enjoyed tangling with Glenn lately, since I sensed that he'd developed an obsession with Swifties and Cambodia and I'll quickly concede that I'd developed my equivalent obsession with campaign mud, decrying the Swifties and Mooreites, the supposed scandals about Kerry's and Bush's honorable service. I saw a real change in the character of his blog; I said so; he took issue, as well he should; and others had complaints, in turn, about my blog. It felt like two buddies drifting farther apart down the bar. I started reading a lot into a lack of Instalinks and was, frankly, relieved when I got one earlier this week -- not for the traffic, but for the communication. Christ, I was getting ready to send him flowers and a box of chocolates. nav 2005 subscription cd key

But this is what happens in a personal medium. It gets personal. nav 2005 subscription cd key

And all that is necessary background to Glenn's post today:

IS THE BLOGOSPHERE ELEVATING THE POLITICAL DEBATE? I just had an interesting conversation with a journalist who's writing on that question, and who pretty clearly seems to feel that the answer is "no."nav 2005 subscription cd key

If "elevating the debate" means a sort of good-government, League-of-Women-Voters focus on where candidates stand on health care, etc., that's mostly true, I suppose. But I think it misconceives what blogs are about. There certainly are bloggers posting on healthcare and other issues -- see, for example, Jeff Jarvis's Issues 2004 posts and this post by Ann Althouse on medical malpractice -- but the political blogosphere is to a large degree about media criticism. If the Big Media were talking more about issues, and less -- to pick RatherGate as the example which I think inspired this conversation -- about Bush's National Guard service, probably bloggers would be talking about issues more, too.

Actually, I would have thought that Glenn would have said the opposite. His complaint was that Big Media were not talking about Swifties and Kerry and Cambodia. Now he complains that they were talking about Bush and the National Guard. My complaint was the Big Media -- and bloggers -- were not talking about issues but were, instead, talking about both Bush and the National Guard and Kerry and the Swifties and Cambodia. nav 2005 subscription cd key

That is precisely why I started posting about issues, because I decided I should put my bandwidth where my mouth is. nav 2005 subscription cd key

I completely agree that blogs are, to a large degree, about media -- because they are media. But in fact, if all blogs do is criticize media, then that's damned limiting. I'd hate to see blogs get too inside baseball (on steroids). nav 2005 subscription cd key

If blogs are media, then they can and should talk about anything media talks about, including issues that matter to our lives and our future (with, I might add, a helluva lot more relevance and passion than any League of Women Voters). nav 2005 subscription cd key

Glenn continues:

Of course, what's striking about RatherGate is the absolutely incredible degree of ineptitude, arrogance, and outright political manipulativeness that it has revealed. In light of that, I can understand why members of the media would rather talk about other things.

Cheap shot and not really right. Media's going mad talking about Rathergate; I've had tons of media calls and so have many other bloggers. And on those appearances, I -- as both Media Man and Blog Boy -- have been attacking the ineptitute, arrogance, and political mucking of Rather et al -- and I've not been alone among media men. Glenn goes on:

But, all blogger triumphalism aside, the media criticism matters. And it matters because Big Media are still the main way that our society learns about what's happening, and talks about it. A serious breakdown there, which seems undeniably present today, is very important. In many ways, as I've said before, it's more important than how the election turns out.

I agree with most of that (I do not think that media matters more than terrorism, homeland security, health care, education, and such). But cut away the brush and vines and that's a fine tree there. If he'd ended there, we'd stand in agreement. But the snark gun fires once more:

Meanwhile, I don't recall much tut-tutting about bloggers focusing on Trent Lott's racial remarks, instead of his position on national health insurance. Were we elevating the tone then, but not now?

Cheap rhetorical trick. Lott's statement was a present-tense story and it wasn't in the midst of a presidential campaign and it didn't blot out other discussion. nav 2005 subscription cd key

Bottom lines: Big Media and bloggers can and should talk about more than media because all media and no issues makes Jack a dull boy. nav 2005 subscription cd key

Media's important. But so are homeland security, Iraq, health insurance, education, energy, and all the other issues that affect our lives and about which we have opinions and about which we -- bloggers as well as Big Media -- should be debating. We can talk about all this at once. Pixels are cheap. nav 2005 subscription cd key

As I have said here often lately, I had hoped that blogs would push Big Media to do better on the issues that matter to this nation and its future, not just about mud from the past. That's how I hoped blogs would, indeed, have helped elevate the political debate. nav 2005 subscription cd key

I believe blogs can do both. Blogs can criticize and fact-check and dog -- and, here's the point -- improve Big Media. Blogs can also debate and inform and push and prod both media and politicians on issues that matter to us. I wouldn't want to limit them.nav 2005 subscription cd key

Blogs can do all that -- and make pajama jokes, too. nav 2005 subscription cd key

: And let me add this... The reason that I went ahead and posted this is because if we in blogs criticize Big Media, we also should be prepared to examine ourselves. So I think it's good that Glenn posted what he did; he tries to boil us down (ouch) to our essence. And I think it's best if we then continue to discuss that. We're a new medium. We're figuring out what the hell we are. So long as we don't get caught in (a) navel gazing or (b) triumphalism or (c) boring self-indulgent droning (each a disease of Big Journalism, Lord knows), then the discussion is good. So discuss....nav 2005 subscription cd key

: UPDATE: Patterico says I missed the point of present-tense vs. past-tense. I didn't. But I did shorthand what I said too much so here's his post and see my repy. nav 2005 subscription cd key

Also see my earlier post arguing that blogs should be judged on how we try to affect the coverage and conduct of this election.

: Think of the next 11 weeks until the election as a challenge: as a test of weblogs' real value: nav 2005 subscription cd key

When we wake up after the election, will we be able to point to the ways and posts in which this new medium contributed, or at least tried to contribute, to improving the coverage of the campaign and the policies of the candidates and the wisdom of the electorate? Will we have made a difference at all? Or will we have made it worse?nav 2005 subscription cd key

Did we push the coverage and the candidates in ways that mattered? Or did we wallow in mud? nav 2005 subscription cd key

Now is our opportunity to show what we can do. So what can we do?

nav 2005 subscription cd key

LINK | Comments (10)

National pundit shortage!

: I'm supposed to be on FoxNews Thursday between 9 and 9:30 a.m. (my virgin voyage into their air). This must indicate a dire shortage of pundits!nav 2005 subscription cd key

: I apologize for the lack of posts since this morning. Real work, real life, you know how it is. And now I have to get out early to make sure I make it to FoxNews on time. Then more meetings. More real work, real life. But I blog when I find a breath....nav 2005 subscription cd key

LINK | Comments (4)

Two little

: CBS is doing as little as possible with its Rathergate commission: It appointed only a two-person commission and though they are respected -- former AP head Louis Boccardi and former PA Gov. Dick Thornburgh -- they aren't TV and they don't represent the various constituencies and thus viewpoints I think are important. But far, far worse: CBS is charging them only to look into how the forged docs got onto the air, nothing after, nothing more. Big mistake. Muffed opportunity. Frightened and frightening lack of vision.
My view of what they should have done here. CBS' announcement here. See Ernie Miller's parallel reaction here. nav 2005 subscription cd key

LINK | Comments (9)

Issues2004

: Fred Wilson has posted two more good replies to my Issues2004 posts on health insurance and homeland security. If you've posted replies on your blogs, please leave links in the comments; the point of this is to discuss the issues so let's discuss. (And now I feel guilty I haven't posted the next one, having wasted time on Dan Rather and all that. Shame on me.)nav 2005 subscription cd key

LINK | Comments (14)

Email hell

: Rafat Ali is having the same problem I'm having: Some spam virus is spoofing my email address sending more virus spam everywhere with fake mail-bounce messages. As those get slapped into spam folders, our domains are getting black marks on black lists (even though it's not really our domains sending them; our addresses are only being spoofed). It's affecting Rafat's business and he's asking for expert help. Go here to help. nav 2005 subscription cd key

LINK | Comments (1)

He's being followed by a moon shadow...

: Cat Stevens' (new) name, Yusuf Islam, is on no-fly security lists, so when he was allowed to board a plane and it was discovered, the jet was diverted to Maine.

"He was interviewed and denied admission to the United States on national security grounds," said homeland security spokesman Dennis Murphy. He said the man would be put on the first available flight out of the country today.

: OK, let's start in.... Maybe they feared he'd say, I'm Gonna Get Me A Gun or just that he's on the wrong side of this Wild World. He's just Cat Stevens, but now he looks like a Foreigner. At any rate, it was A Bad Night last night and you could pretty much say that Tuesday's Dead and When Morning Has Broken he finds himself in the land of L.L. Bean. And you know where this is headed. Yup, next time, Cat/Yusuf, better take the Peace Train. nav 2005 subscription cd key

LINK | Comments (28)

The anti-Reuters machine

: Maarten Schenk created a Movable Type plug-in that does just what Can-West newspapers do to Reuters story, pissing off Reuters and making reasonable people cheer for Can-West: "It will change all instances of the words militant, activist, fighter, gunman and resistance into the T-word."nav 2005 subscription cd key

LINK | Comments (30)

A charge to the CBS Commission

: Since Jay Rosen nominated me to the CBS commission that will investigate the Rather affair, I've been thinking about what it should accomplish. So, here is my charge to the CBS commission:nav 2005 subscription cd key

1. The screw-up: Find out everything that Rather and the producers did wrong -- find out how they aired these forgeries and their conclusions based on them -- but get past that quickly; it's not the real story. Report about the reporting; find out who talked to whom when and what they said; find out who passed on the documents and the conclusions. Fine. Treat all that as the 9/11 Commission treated its narrative; it's just the story of a screw-up, that's all. It's the symptom, not the disease.nav 2005 subscription cd key

Don't fire anybody. That's management's job, not yours. nav 2005 subscription cd key

2. The fixes: Make recommendations about how not to do this again -- but get past that quickly, too, for that is also not the real story. nav 2005 subscription cd key

We know how that will turn out: more people checking more things, more rules: We don't cover the waterfront, we cover our asses. Fine.nav 2005 subscription cd key

But be careful: This could also chill gutsy reporting (and not just stupid reporting) and so you don't want to go too far. Don't get all anal, OK?nav 2005 subscription cd key

Now we get to the meat of your job, commissioners:nav 2005 subscription cd key

3. Transparency of process: Take a good, hard look at what we, the citizens, deserve to know about the process of news. nav 2005 subscription cd key

It's sausage and yes, we do want to know how it's made. It is our news. It is our right to know. nav 2005 subscription cd key

So make it clear how you decide what to air, how you make the stories, what you don't run, even the debate in the newsroom. When I was at the Aspen Institute for this discussion, many of the (other) gray beards said we in journalism should be judged by our product, not our process. I disagree. Our product is being questioned, so we must reveal our process. nav 2005 subscription cd key

And I say that will work to our favor; it will show how we try to get it right, even when we fail. nav 2005 subscription cd key

And, by the way, if the network had believed in transparency of process, they would not have stonewalled this story for 12 days. (And ain't that ironic, by the way: Dan Rather goes out stonewalling just like Dick Nixon.)nav 2005 subscription cd key

4. Transparency of bias: This the biggie, commissioners, so don't wimp out. I say that every reporter, producer, and executive should be quizzed in detail about their own opinions and biases and those biases should be revealed. Then let the public judge their truthfulness, for they already are. Let's see whether Dan Rather still tries to act as if he doesn't dislike Bush, then he's still not telling the audience the truth... and if he doesn't tell the truth about that, then they will wonder about the rest of what he tells them. nav 2005 subscription cd key

That is why we need to be transparent about our viewpoints: The worst agenda is a hidden agenda. So let's not hide behind "objectivity' and all this "Tiffany network" bullshit. We're human; we have opinions; spit 'em up.nav 2005 subscription cd key

5. Conversation: Now we get to the citizen journalists. And yes, they (we) are journalists, too. nav 2005 subscription cd key

The commission should invite the bloggers who went after CBS into the same room with the highest PTUTB (powers that used to be) of CBS News for at least a day and they should vow to come out understanding each other better. Rather has to understand that we, the people, also care about the truth -- perhaps more than he does. He has to understand that we, the crowd, know more than he does. And the bloggers need to understand that not every journalist is a venal viper; they really do want to serve the public. nav 2005 subscription cd key

Speaking of the public, the next day, CBS PTUTB meet viewers and discover that they're not idiots waiting to be spoonfed. And then the PTUTB meet news sources and discover that they often feel misquoted and screwed. nav 2005 subscription cd key

These encounter sessions should leave even Dan Rather humbled. nav 2005 subscription cd key

6. Future: Another tough one (they're all tough): CBS has to admit that it's all downhill from here for network news. nav 2005 subscription cd key

They have to face the facts of cable news (I'd make the mucketies watch FoxNews for 24 hours straight) and the internet and blogs and mobile phones and the commoditization of news. They have to come to grips with the idea (pardon my repetition) that we don't wait for them to bring the news to us anymore, but the news waits for us to get it. They have to serve us where and when and how we want to be served (probably without overpaid anchors, by the way). nav 2005 subscription cd key

And they have to wrestle with the business reality and the deadly dominoes of more competition and smaller audiences and less revenue and smaller news operations the need to be more efficient and concentrate on what makes them valuable and what doesn't (i.e., no more sending 15,000 reporters to a political convention where no news happens... and no more fat paychecks to overpaid anchors). nav 2005 subscription cd key

So the bottom line: You the commissioners should imagine what TV news should be. Don't just fix Dan's screw-up. Reform and reinvent TV news. nav 2005 subscription cd key

Anything less is only another CYA memo. nav 2005 subscription cd key

: A few more things:nav 2005 subscription cd key

Make sure you don't just include retired TV news PTUTB on this commission. Bring on bloggers (in addition to me), news sources, viewers, and young people, too (it's their news next). This isn't about the priests policing the priests. nav 2005 subscription cd key

And the entire process should be transparent -- completely on-the-record and bloggable from the first minute. Don't give me any crap about how that would chill the commission's work. It's time for tough truth love here: All the truth, all the time.
nav 2005 subscription cd key

LINK | Comments (23)