Blogging, Bloggers and the MSM
Via the Britblog Roundup, I notice that the Flying Rodent indulges in a somewhat derisory polemic on political blogs and their authors.
Some readers might point to intelligent, well-written blogs run by reasonable individuals, but frankly, pish and tush. British blogs run at roughly 5% sober budget analysis to 95% face-raping crackheads.
Never mind blogs as a primary news source, I’m struggling to think of a handful of bloggers who would merit even the fabled fifteen minutes of fame. That’s particularly ironic, since the vast majority of them certainly deserve chemical castration, and that’s being charitable.
The piece is worth a read as it is mildly amusing and there is a point to be made, although that point is not a new one – it has been trotted out in one form or another ad-nauseum by hacks writing for mainstream publications.
However indifferent or downright bad blogs may be, however ill-informed the comment, it changes not the fact that so-called professional journalists are no better, frankly. I recall the wake of the Paddington disaster when journalists demonstrated their complete lack of understanding of railway signalling.
This was not the first time I had watched news stories unfold whereby the news agencies and their reporters demonstrated abject ignorance of their subject. I watched in despair as they reported on the signaller strike of 1994 and what a pile of arse dribble they came out with then – and anything to do with motorcycling has me reaching for the remote…
Given this, I will place more faith in a blogger with professional expertise than the drivel produced by a professional hack. If they are ignorant of my subject, then it is a reasonable conclusion that they are equally ignorant on just about everything else – unless they are demonstrably experts in that particular field, in which case, I place more weight on their comment.
As to the original point being made here; blogging is much like a pub conversation and should, for the most part, be taken in that context. Reading blogs has challenged my preconceptions, it has caused me to change my mind, it has given me the opportunity to engage with people with whom I would not otherwise have done. It is also a catharsis – a chance to blow off steam when reading the asinine garbage that passes for “professional” journalism in the mainstream press. It eases the blood pressure a fraction. FR worries about the decline of the newspapers – frankly, I cannot say that I do. They are hardly a force for good. The Guardian and the Daily Mail disappearing would instantly make the world a better place (and I would suggest the complete editorial staff of both publications are more worthy candidates for FR’s rocket to the sun than political bloggers). Not that those left are much better, mind…
Bloggers are merely ordinary people expressing an opinion and blogs are merely a means to voice those opinions – nothing more, nothing less. If, though, that makes the established media and the political class uncomfortable, jolly good, keep up the good work. Anything that annoys those bastards is a bonus.
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