The Blogosphere
A response to recent reader comments is forthcoming…I’ve been very busy lately and haven’t had much time to blog or even go online. I did finally get online this morning and found out about the big scandal about the forged documents CBS did a 60 minutes segment on. Here is a summary of went down.
The power of the internet to vet news stories is incredible and blogs are playing a central role in the process. Here is what the folks at Power Line, the blog that started the ball rolling on this whole thing had to say about these events:
Tomorrow morning, dinosaur media across the country will be headlining the 60 Minutes “scoop” as a blow to the Bush campaign. Before their newspapers are even printed, not only is the story obsolete, but CBS is in full retreat. As Stephen Hayes reported earlier today, Power Line “led the charge” against the 60 Minutes hoax today. But the credit really goes to the incredible power of the internet. We knew nothing; all of our information came from our readers. Many thousands of smart, well-informed people who only a few years ago would have had no recourse but perhaps to write a letter to their local newspaper, now can communicate and share their expertise in real time, through sites like this one. The power of the medium is incredible, as we’ve seen over the last fourteen hours.
I’ve complained in the past about recent campaign finance reform threatening our rights to free speech but to a large extent my concerns are probably being overtaken by events. The Internet is quickly becoming the medium that can be trusted while the older, more traditional news sources are becoming less reliable. When someone in the blogosphere breaks a big story it can be fact checked in real time by thousands of experts and ameteurs who may or may not have an interest in the outcome. It is much easier to get the truth in an environment like this than when the media is controlled by a few influential gatekeepers. The blogosphere is smashing CBS today. I think that’s pretty cool but I’d bet Mr. Rather doesn’t agree.
(image courtesy Drudge)
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Are you the key master?
Great blog post.
Comment by Michael — September 10, 2004 @ 7:18 am
“…I have no gate key.”
“Fessig, tear his arms off.”
“…Oh! You mean THIS gate key?!”
Comment by Cody — September 10, 2004 @ 1:02 pm
Trust no one. Always consider the source. Implicit trust in a blog, let alone the internet, is down right scary. The news media comes from the same vein and my comparable level of distrust for the progenitors and its sources. In God we trust.
Comment by Brett — September 12, 2004 @ 5:54 am