Old Media and New Media..Like it or not, they're partners (FREEREPUBLIC IN THE NEWS)

REASON ^ | September 15, 2004 | Jesse Walker

[fight_truth_decay]

Note: Go to http://www.reason.com/links/links091504.shtml for all links provided in the story above.

[fight_truth_decay]

Now, if you read nothing but right-wing sites like Free Republic or left-wing ones like The Daily Kos—and there are some political zombies out there I suspect of doing just that—then you're not going to be served very well..... Cyberspace offers many rewards, but it's also filled with partisan robots and knuckle-dragging bullies, with would-be reporters .

..more my definition of the Old Media.

[GVnana]

The new outlets aren't displacing the old ones; they're transforming them. Slowly but noticeably, the old media are becoming faster, more transparent, more interactive—not because they want to be, but because they have to be.

It's been a very quick tranformation this last week. Immediately after the Buckhead post we were being reviled by the mainstream. They were closing ranks saying, the CBS story didn't matter, wasn't important, we didn't know what we were talking about, etc. etc.

Suddenly in the last few days, we are highlighted "Bloggers" affectionately embraced on the nightly news. A sea change indeed.

[Nachum]

Now, because we have kicked them where it hurts, they have to notice us. Things are getting interestinger and interestinger....

[WVNan]

Actually a pretty well thought out column.

[Steve_Seattle]

I don't agree with everything this guy says, but he makes some good points, especially how the blogger phenomenon has changed the MSM and is dragging it (screaming and crying) to greater accountability.

[GOPJ]

I suspect Freepers subscribe to more newspapers and newsmagazines than the average citizen. What we don't read here, we read over coffee in the morning. With occasional "vanities" the exception, most of what we read here is the work of professional journalist.

They might be onto something:

When CBS aired those dubious memos last Wednesday, it set off a reaction that began in cyberspace but by the end of Thursday had gotten all the way to Nightline. Bloggers and Freepers were doing fresh reporting and fresh analysis of the story. So were ABC, the Associated Press, and The Washington Post. The professional media drew on the bloggers for ideas; the bloggers in turn linked to the professionals' reports.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

if you read nothing but right-wing sites like Free Republic . . . then you're not going to be served very well

No sale here. The right is, well, it's right. The left is wrong, and it's very little more complicated than that. "The truth lies somewhere in the middle" is a cop-out for cowards who can't take a position.

Granted that it's important to give due consideration to what the left is saying in order to refute it, Free Republic fulfills that role with its "barf alert" article postings.

[Chunga]

For years Rush Limbaugh has been saying "I am equal time."

[beyond the sea]

one of the most reviled men in the blogosphere was Jonathan Klein, formerly an executive at CBS News.

Klein -- a sleazy 'Baghdad Bob' in a suit!

[Prince Caspian]

I thought this was a very insightful and balanced treatment of the evolving relationship between new/old media. I can't disagree with any part of it.

However, the problem, IMO, is not the existence of analysis with a bias or agenda. Rather, it is the fact that the bias is so blantantly obvious in the MSM, but yet they declare themselves to be even-handed. Let the news marketplace be one of advocacies and political agendas. No problem. And let those advocated agendas compete for the minds and hearts of individuals on a level playing field. But just don't advertise yourself as being something you are not.

[IPWGOP]

you can see cartoons of this here: IowaPresidentialWatch.com

[tx_eggman]

No sale here. The right is, well, it's right. The left is wrong, and it's very little more complicated than that. "The truth lies somewhere in the middle" is a cop-out for cowards who can't take a position.

Don't lock in too tight.

Conservatives are human, they make mistakes. The best response when we make them is to acknowledge them, correct them, and move on

As far as liberals/socialists are concerned ... even a blind pig finds an acorn once in a while

[RJL]

The professional media drew on the bloggers for ideas; the bloggers in turn linked to the professionals' reports. The old media and the new media weren't at loggerheads with each other—or, to the extent that they were, they were also at loggerheads with themselves. They complemented each other. They were part of the same ecosystem.

This is well said, a lot of truth here. We read them and comment, they read us and comment.

[CaptRon]

The author should become more familiar with FR. There are many, many articles posted here that are from the 'other' side. It's the beauty of FR.

[elbucko]

Many pro-Bush bloggers are comparing Dan Rather to Jayson Blair....

No, I consider the likes of Dan Rather to be closer to the NYT's Walter Duranty, Stalin's shill.

[Grampa Dave]

[victim soul]

I love Jim Robinson, FreeRepublic.com, Freepers and my fuzzy wuzzy pj's.

[sauropod]

"Now, if you read nothing but right-wing sites like Free Republic or left-wing ones like The Daily Kos—and there are some political zombies out there I suspect of doing just that—then you're not going to be served very well."

Guilty as charged. I have little time for anywhere else. 'Pod.