US uber blogger Ace points out a certain sleight of hand in the MSM's indictment of bloggers.
It's a brilliant point - all I'd add is that applying the same logic the MSM uses to dismiss bloggers, you have to seriously question the value of actual journalism. The MSM claims that bloggers shoot from the hip, while they themselves can spend *hours* researching articles on medical malpractice, police corruption and friendly fire incidents (and possibly all three at once). Sure, but becoming, say, a competent neurosurgeon takes over a decade, yet give him twenty four hours to read the 'Dummies Guide To Brain Stuff' and Joe Journalist is ready to explain why Professor Jones is an incompetent weasel. Where, exactly, is the dividing line between ill-informed rants and precisely-crafted journalism ? Two hours research ? Thirty minutes ? And do you get a pass if you've, y'know, spent your working life in that particular sector of the economy ?
On the other hand, it turns out that journalism is such a complex art form that no one outside the MSM can possibly have any worthwhile opinion about it. Even the question of whether or not the BBC should be swapping round the time line on its documentaries is apparently too complex for mere mortals to comment on.
It's a brilliant point - all I'd add is that applying the same logic the MSM uses to dismiss bloggers, you have to seriously question the value of actual journalism. The MSM claims that bloggers shoot from the hip, while they themselves can spend *hours* researching articles on medical malpractice, police corruption and friendly fire incidents (and possibly all three at once). Sure, but becoming, say, a competent neurosurgeon takes over a decade, yet give him twenty four hours to read the 'Dummies Guide To Brain Stuff' and Joe Journalist is ready to explain why Professor Jones is an incompetent weasel. Where, exactly, is the dividing line between ill-informed rants and precisely-crafted journalism ? Two hours research ? Thirty minutes ? And do you get a pass if you've, y'know, spent your working life in that particular sector of the economy ?
On the other hand, it turns out that journalism is such a complex art form that no one outside the MSM can possibly have any worthwhile opinion about it. Even the question of whether or not the BBC should be swapping round the time line on its documentaries is apparently too complex for mere mortals to comment on.
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