What a cacophony of arrogance! Is a self proclaimed “Credentialed Journalist” so far superior to we mere bloggers, that we should simply concede our inferiority log off of our computers and absorb the brainless impartial spoon feeding from the “Oh Great and Noble Sages” of professional journalism, the likes of Dan Rather and Nick Coleman (who?)?!
How big of a pair of Vidalia Onions do you have to have to make such an arrogant statement as:
Do bloggers have the credentials of real journalists? No. Bloggers are hobby hacks, the Internet version of the sad loners who used to listen to police radios in their bachelor apartments and think they were involved in the world.Bloggers don't know about anything that happened before they sat down to share their every thought with the moon. Like graffiti artists, they tag the public square -- without editors, correction policies or community standards. And so their tripe is often as vicious as it is vacuous.
We are not dealing with journalism, people. We are dealing with Internet chat rooms: sleazy and unreliable, with no accountability. Most bloggers are not fit to carry a reporter's notebook.
Wow! You can always tell a journalist but you can’t tell them much! This implies that anyone’s (other than a paid journalist) observations, opinions, logical challenges are to be regarded as mere drivel, regardless of the topic being discussed.
Last I checked, many reporters and journalists who have not bought into this air of supremacy regularly consult the opinions and judgments of professionals in the field on which they are discussing or reporting. Why? Because the Journalist is not qualified as the expert! Quotes from these qualified individuals lend credibility and context to a story. Without such references, most stories would end up on the editing room floor as mere hearsay. Why, because society doesn’t buy into the “Take my word for it” approach from journalists. They are required to support their conclusions with some independent verifiable facts. And when the presented facts prove to be erroneous or the professional reference is proven to not be the expert in the field claimed, the credibility of the article is subsequently lost. And if the journalist who’s name is on the piece does not distance himself from the misrepresentation then the corollary argument is implied by the reader of “It is the Journalist who now lacks credibility.”
We are now in an exciting world where the so called “Common Man (and Woman)” can now voice their thoughts and opinions in a public forum. What is not understood by Mr. Coleman is that this “Common Man” is not so common. Bloggers today are comprised of much more than the “Sad Loner” conspiracy theorist, sleazy chat-room participant. They are Venture Capitalists like Brad Feld, Law Professors like Glenn Reynolds, and dare I say it, even Journalists like Dan Gilmore. The very people being sought for their professional opinions by the “Credentialed Journalists” are now eliminating the middleman and voicing their thoughts unedited and in some cases uncensored by the traditional media outlets. And I say Thank God! I don’t always want my information filtered, and what these people have to say at full strength, in context, is often far more intelligent and useful than the diluted Kool-Aid a Journalist or Editor choose to feed us.
I do not begin to portend that I know everything. Hell, maybe I am “Just the Common Man.” But you know something, I have been in the presence of a variety of great men and women… strange I never saw Nick Coleman on the attendees list… and the one thing about all of the leaders and true heroes I’ve met that they all had in common was humility. Let others try to do what you can do, only the threatened try to suppress through insult and intimidation. But by doing so you only serve to prove the point of how much better they are in their pursuit than you are in yours.
Damn Nick, “Me thinks thou doth protest too much!” Feeling a bit threatened?
Oh yeah, and on this question in your attack on bloggers:
So, how is it that nakedly partisan bloggers who make things up left and right are gaining street cred while the mainstream media, which spend a lot of time criticizing themselves, are under attack?
Could it be that the overwhelmingly over-clothed partisan Mainstream Media who make things up left and right (Mr. Rather) while criticizing each other and bloggers, are losing credibility, as they are stripped of their perceived and enjoyed nobility by we lowly commoners now with a forum to speak? And now that they are exposed for the commoners they are we all breathe fresher air. Something like this Link. God aren’t the tools of Democracy great?!
Oh how the arrogant are headed downhill in a hurry. Is it bad form to buy them roller-skates? Get off your horse Nick and have a beer or two with a common blogger like “Captain Ed” and have a discussion about current affairs, and experience for yourself the intellect found among the commoners.
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