I noted with obvious interest on Stuff today that News Ltd CEO John Hartigan is having a go at bloggers and blogs.
“In return for their free content, we pretty much get what we’ve paid for – something of such limited intellectual value as to be barely discernible from massive ignorance,”. Blogs often give a platform for “radical sweeping statements unsubstantiated with evidence”.
In an oblique way, it reminds me of the way in which some viewed movies after TV industry threatened to steamroll the movie industry. The film industry has responded by providing a better service to the punters better product, better facilities, and so on.
In a way, the blogging world relies on the ‘real’ media to provide a topic to discuss this is a classic example.
At the same time, the rise of blogging in particular reflects a dumbing down of the news industry and you only need to check out the ‘human interest’ stories across the media to see where serious matters are discussed.
It’s also interesting to see the way in which Web 2.0 is changing organisations including political parties. The normal mode in the past was very much one-way communication where increasingly readers want to interact with those behind the news and others who are likewise interested. Blogs have lead stories, caused genuine
change and most importantly raised the bar in terms of encouraging robust political debate above the usual staple of why we lost the world cup. Labour now has its own blog (bugger, there goes that right wing conspiracy theory) as a direct result of the success of this and THAT other site.
Look, we all know on most matters you lot are right and I’m wrong. Actually, I’m confused now because I thought I was right and you were left? Point is, I think this is one topic we can agree with blogs have
a role to play in politics and the wider community. It’s up to the news media to up their game and co-exist with the amateurs who in many ways are showing up the pros.
Daveski
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