August 01, 2004
'You Say You Want A Revolution'
In America we have a multitude of avenues in which to obtain our sources of information. With the onset of political coverage on the web, traditional media sources such as the major networks are seeing their ratings decline while weblog traffic soars. Advertisers are flocking to websites to promote their products instead of using the old methods. Why is this, and what do weblogs offer that others don’t? The answer is content and context.“The Revolution Will Be Blogged” - Andrew Sullivan
While the major media will report the news they find "fit to print", millions turn to weblogs for the information they can't find anywhere else. And when they find these stories, it is often put into context by the weblog author. While the media claims that there is no bias, one doesn't have to look any farther than the admission that was made on ABC's The Note website on February 10, 2004:
"Like every other institution, the Washington and political press corps operate with a good number of biases and predilections.More systematically, the press believes that fluid narratives in coverage are better than static storylines; that new things are more interesting than old things; that close races are preferable to loose ones; and that incumbents are destined for dethroning, somehow.
The press, by and large, does not accept President Bush's justifications for the Iraq war -- in any of its WMD, imminent threat, or evil-doer formulations. It does not understand how educated, sensible people could possibly be wary of multilateral institutions or friendly, sophisticated European allies.
The worldview of the dominant media can be seen in every frame of video and every print word choice that is currently being produced about the presidential race. "
With the bias clear to almost everyone, how is the typical American supposed to get the news that matters most? There is a lack of information reaching the people. Weblogs fill that void. The beauty of the medium is that the news goes out to the masses without being spun through editors who clearly have biases and want their ideology advanced. Sure, weblog authors have agendas and do spin as well, however; no one goes to these sites without knowing that. People often make the mistake of thinking that the "fourth estate" is without their own ideological bent.
One of the biggest hints that the admission by The Note is correct is that people often find news on weblogs that they have never heard anywhere else. Not reporting, or under-reporting is prevalent in America today. Stories such as the U.N. Oil for Food scandal, the removal of two ton's of uranium from Iraq , and the fallacies which are prevelant in Michael Moore's propaganda are among other reports that many have never even heard. How about a single good news report out of Iraq - when was the last time you heard one of those? This information is widespread among weblogs, yet coverage on the networks is non-existent. Most traditional sources of information have all but ignored them.
Not only can you find these stories on the web, but you can get the background information and find them put into context. The reason I write Perry on Politics is to inform the masses in a manner in which makes current events interesting to all. You don't have to be a media elite or take yourself too seriously to express your point of view and inform the public. If you want detailed commentary on the events of the day, you can read Andrew Sullivan, Josh Marshall, Powerline, Glenn Reynolds, Hugh Hewitt, Michael Totten, NRO's Corner, and Watchblog among many others. There is an endless supply on both the left and right to make your choices complete.
Start your day by getting your morning news from these weblogs, and then spend the evening in front of the major networks. It will truly open your eyes. What you hear in the evening might take a totally different perspective when you have the context that these weblogs have put into your consciousness. Getting your news from different sources not only adds context, it is the most logical way of getting informed. Information is power, and without hearing both sides of the issue you are unable to be sure that you know what is happening.
Weblogs are a new driving force behind informing and bringing context to the public, but they are not beyond reproach. It is the responsibility of the authors of these websites to maintain and fact check their work. Their information still requires validation. We must not allow the spread of rumor and false stories, that should be left to the networks. With the blogosphere growing to over 3 million websites, the revolution has begun.
If this is a plug for conservative blogs, I’d like to offer American Pundit as a progressive alternative. It’s “My spin on American politics.”
Thank you Timothy for not making me feel self-conscious for plugging American Pundit.
That’s American Pundit, folks. And one more time just to vent my pent up Googlelust: American Pundit.
LoL, American Pundit.
I like your ad better, it’s pithy and to the point.
Jeez, I sound like Oreilly.
Posted by: Greg at August 1, 2004 01:34 PMAmPun,
I was conflicted about leaving the links in but the point was more to the relevancy of weblogs. The medium is a developing force in the political arena and deserves a mention. Unfortunately I am not too familiar with some of the other editor’s websites, but will start taking note! You said that was www.americanpundit.com, right? Many of my readers are surprised by how many “left” websites I visit, but as a fan of debate you have to always see what others are saying.
Regards,
Tim
AmPun,
One last comment to your post. Sully, Totten, Marshall, and of course Watchblog all contain opinion that strays well off conservative. Sully may be conservative in some aspects, but socially no one is accusing him of being too “right”. So the links provided do not all tilt right.
Tim
Timothy, the media is a Rohrshach ink blot. Given that there is some bias in some media at any given time, readers, viewers, and listeners will perceive bias in all media which runs stories or news contrary to the reader, viewer, or listener’s point of view!
This simple fact is easily demonstrable and has been well researched and supported.
Posted by: David R Remer at August 1, 2004 02:24 PMFirst, I think media bias is a joke. It’s something people say when the media says something they don’t like, as if the news business was supposed to strive for neutrality rather than for objectivity.
Second, I think blogs, because of their personal, often non-professional nature are more vulnerable to the traps of partisanship, more biased, in short. Besides, as it so often happens, most political bloggers are beholden to journalistic sources of varying quality. By its nature, most blogwork is secondary source oriented.
Third, your right wing people have an awful record for following up on your sources, in my experience. Lately, conventional wisdom has been turning against the conservative line. That is big motivation for headline grabbing, and the acceptance of spin others would not credit on the merits. I can’t tell you how exhausted I am with conservatives restating the oh-so wonderful reason we invaded Iraq, even as every publication that can be found, right middle, or left reinforces the message of how badly we got this call wrong.
Frankly, I think blogs can be good as forums and as places to find esoterica and miscellania, but they’re not always the places to find dependable facts and figures.
Posted by: Stephen Daugherty at August 1, 2004 06:45 PMGee Tim, have you ever listened to Fox news. I think blogs are creating a new collective conscience, but like newspaper editorials, they are out a minor subset to TV & radio. Major media places advertising revenues first and political discourse first. A perfect place for shallow incumbents, which dominate the political scene. All they need to rule us is advertising dollars. Facts hardly matter.
Posted by: bayviking at August 2, 2004 09:45 AMTimothy, I must say that I totally agree with your recommendation of getting context from Weblogs and then viewing TV media coverage. It is a far more effective method of acquiring a comprehensive overview of current events.
Your readers are well advised on this point.
Posted by: David R Remer at August 7, 2004 05:55 PMSpeaking as an outsider (literally - I live in Australia) I find weblogs - and particularly American ones - very entertaining. But remember folks - no matter who you vote for, a politician always wins.
And as my grandfather maintained “politicians are like bananas - they go in green, they come out yellow and there’s not a straight one amongst them.”
Good luck with your election, but will it make any difference? To anyone?
Posted by: Richard R. at August 8, 2004 04:31 AM
