Bloggers as News Media Trophy Hunters (NYT)

[stevedeshazer]

link: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/14/technology/14cnn.html

With the resignation Friday of a top news executive from CNN, bloggers have laid claim to a prominent media career for the second time in five months.

In September, conservative bloggers exposed flaws in a report by Dan Rather; he subsequently announced that on March 9 he would step down as anchor of the "CBS Evening News." On Friday, after nearly two weeks of intensifying pressure on the Internet, Eason Jordan, the chief news executive at CNN, abruptly resigned after being besieged by the online community. Morever, last week liberal bloggers forced a sketchily credentialed White House reporter to quit his post.

For some bloggers - people who publish the sites known as Web logs - it was a declaration that this was just the beginning. Edward Morrissey, a call center manager who lives near Minneapolis and has written extensively about the Jordan controversy, wrote on his blog, Captain's Quarters (captainsquartersblog.com): "The moral of the story: the media can't just cover up the truth and expect to get away with it - and journalists can't just toss around allegations without substantiation and expect people to believe them anymore."

<snip>

It was a businessman attending the forum in Davos who put Mr. Jordan's comments on the map with a Jan. 28 posting. Rony Abovitz, 34, of Hollywood, Fla., the co-founder of a medical technology company, was invited to Davos and was asked to write for the forum's first-ever blog, his first blogging effort. In an interview yesterday, he said that he had challenged Mr. Jordan's assertion that the United States was taking aim at journalists and asked for evidence.

more at link....

[stevedeshazer]

1. Think the MSM isn't afraid of websites like DU and others?

This article is proof positive.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

3. Not just the MSM

We treading into uncharted territories were the people doing the snooping aren't part of the "network". It can lead to a new level of transparency for the American people. The bloggers are taking this seriously (as well they should be) and it's putting both the News Reporters and the News Makers on edge.

[stevedeshazer]

5. It's a new threshold of media, that's for sure

Americans are unsubscribing to conventional "news" sources, since they are not meeting the public's needs. I agree with you.

The ultimate "free market" in ideas,

[Jawja]

18. It is now the

FREE PRESS in America.

[callous taoboy]

26. They've rendered themselves untrustworthy:

I get NO news from MSM. They are total lackeys.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

28. true

[bling bling]

2. The NYT is in denial like the rest of them.

It's not about trophy hunting. They wish.

It's about ordinary citizens using their own time and effort to do the job of reporting the news because our news media bites.

We don't need bazillionair corporations regurgitating white house press releases. We want real investigative news based on facts.

It's like the old saying, if you want the job done right....

[noamnety]

4. Exactly

If we weren't getting obvious propaganda from gluckert instead of journalism, he would have fallen under the radar.

And if the media had done their job on the AWOL story, Rather wouldn't have been the fall guy for being the only one to report it.

If we had real media, the few real journalists as opposed to shills would have support, and the system would flush out the gluckerts.

[stevedeshazer]

7. blingo!

Sorry, couldn't resist given your screen name. :)

It's really about the truth, as you alluded to.

[Eloriel]

22. Sounds like a pretty good LTE you got goin' there, bling bling

Just pretty it up a bit and send 'er off.

Please. It's an important point you make.

[Toucano]

6. Jealous much, NYT?

If we had real investigative journalists left in this country, bloggers wouldn't be so influential.

The MSM crap hole White House press corpse sat along side "Gannon" for how long without looking into him?

A story right under their noses and they couldn't smell it? They've slacked, primped, and blow-dried their way into obsolesence. No tears from me.

[Eloriel]

23. Yep, Nature abhors a vacuum

If we had anything remotely like investigative journalism, anything remotely like REAL journalism (never mind the investigative part for the moment), there'd be absolutely no "market" for bloggers taking it on themselves. They'd all be music and Hollywood gossip columns or something totally inane.

[Hamlette]

8. why is it bloggers get two "liberal" media types fired while Fox

and all the other conservatives media types lie all the time and we think the bloggers are the heroes?

The GOP is pulling the stings on this as well. We can scream about conservative bias on our blogs all day long and nothing will happen.

Let some insignificant first time blogger call a CNN executive liberal and the CNN exec is gone.

I don't see any cause for celebration of bloggers in these stories.

More KKK dirty tricks. me thinks.

(oh, and don't even start with Gannon being a Rather or the chief news executive of CNN.)

[w4rma]

17. It's propaganda. They're purging the media of anyone who might

defend Democrats and/or attack Republicans. !@#$ing Pravda.

They're acting like they give a flip what regular folks think, except when their propagand works and they can use a few of the regular folks (who might not even be regular folks) as an excuse to get what they want.

[Hamlette]

20. purging the media of anyone who is critical of Bush AND blaming bloggers

Bloggers are nothing without Fox to pick up the bullsh*t and run with it. That's why what we do on liberal sites gets no notice.

It's not bloggers to blame or credit, it's who/what gets picked up by MSM. So far, only the right wing stuff makes it there.

I'm ordering this book today. Makes sense. We don't know the difference between bullshit and the truth anymore. We have become a nation of bullshitters. Scary.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/14/books/14bull.html?hp&ex=1108443600&en=c1f5c6a38f183e9d&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[JerseygirlCT]

21. Just what I was thinking!

This is more to underline the idea that the media has a distinct liberal bias. After all, here you see these bloggers outing more distrustful liberals...

This only supports the same, tired, "liberal media" myth.

[NVMojo]

9. they'd best figure out how to get back to the grassroots of journalism

before it is too late for them. The MSM is worthless if it is only a megaphone for the PR machines of government and corporations.

[KoKo]

10. Buried in this rambling article is the REAL reason Jordon resigned....here

While over the years Mr. Jordan had helped vault CNN to some of its most celebrated triumphs - it was largely through his diplomatic efforts that CNN was able to broadcast the first live footage from the first Gulf War, in 1991 - he also drew criticism. In one case, he wrote an article for the Op-Ed page of The New York Times in April 2003, saying that CNN had essentially suppressed news of brutalities so the network could maintain access and protect its people in Iraq.

[mainer]

11. What's said at Davos is supposed to stay at Davos

at least, that's what I've heard the rules were supposed to be. The same rules hold for Renaissance Weekends here in the US. The point of these conferences is that top people in their fields (yes, including journalists) should be free to speak their minds in the forums, without their remarks ever being made public. This is the only way for people to exchange honest viewpoints, without fear of repercussions. To break that confidentiality is a big no-no, and those remarks should never have been blogged to the public.

That blogger should henceforth be banished from Davos. And I hope he never turns up at a Renaissance Weekend.

[Last Lemming]

12. Okay--the real question

Fox is using this scandel to cover up the Gannongate problem . . .so who is this guy?

Rony Abovitz, 34, of Hollywood, Fla., the co-founder of a medical technology company, was invited to Davos and was asked to write for the forum's first-ever blog, his first blogging effort. . .

quite suspicious--what medical technology company, what first time anything. . .please help figure this guy out. . . .

[Last Lemming]

13. On Rory--

His personal blogsite is http://fixtheworld.blogs.com/fixtheworld/ so this hardly appears to be his first blogging adventure

(NYTimes could have found this out in a heartbeat.)

[Last Lemming]

14. Is there a guest list for Devos?

Who gets invited and why?

[cthrumatrix]

15. the global elite....that's all

[Norquist Nemesis]

24. Rory's Company Bio

"Rony Abovitz, M.S., Chief Technology Officer & Vice-President
Mr. Abovitz has twelve years medical device development experience in the area of orthopedic, neurological, and cardiovascular surgery. Prior to co-founding Z-KAT, Mr. Abovitz worked on projects such as the development and testing of nitinol AAA stent-graft implants (acquired by Medtronic AVE) and the development and testing of orthopedic implants (joints and trauma). Mr. Abovitz led ZKAT.s development and acquisition of technology portfolio which includes MAKO's more than 120 patents worldwide. He has a B.S. in mechanical engineering and an M.S. in biomedical engineering from the University of Miami. Mr. Abovitz is also a member of the University of Miami Advisory Panel for Biomedical Engineering and has been a guest lecturer on computerassisted surgery. "

http://www.z-kat.com/company/managers.shtml

[librechik]

16. gee, they force someone out for telling an uncomfortable truth

what a triumph!

If only we could harness this power for the forces of good. Unfortunately, the ones we need to remove are too deeply entrenched to touch.

[hector459]

19. If you ask me, he sould be happy to NOT be associated with CNN anymore

May he and Ted can get together and start a new network and sign us on as "journalists." Call us "journalblogs."

[SpaceBuddy008]

25. no trophy needed,can't stand Psyche. invasion of free,healthy mind

these thought viruses are contaminating the noosphere, the medium of communication which is how we share and cooperate to create better environments and good just futures.How humans get Along.

Great to have 1st amendment which allows almost all speech, but in times like these and in this discovery process we need fair speech too, civil honest discourse especially when the forces of monopolies, disruption, conflict and oppressiveness get unequal access to OUR Public AirWaves.

The TroubleMakers need to be challenged and take back seats till they get with reason, the program of healing, many our projecting, distracting and covering their asses cause they Know we have have been lying in wait and are now pouncing, they are agitated but still trying to agitate cause THEY HAVE BEEN FOUND OUT.

I just want to save my country and prosper love , truth, beauty and renew integrity in America's greatest export -OUR Ingenuity!

That is why i self publish, www.indymedia.org www.bellaciao.org

because i choose to use the pen not the sword, but mean spirit and dubious intent of the use of words is like using a sword in this, Information is Currency age

WORDS = Conduits of SPIRIT-anonymous

CultureJamCleveland

[Voltaire99]

27. What form will the backlash take?

Neither the pols nor the courtesan press corps will long tolerate the free exercise of American tongues. They haven't spent the past two centuries breeding more docile sheep only to succumb without a fight.

When the official backlash against blogging occurs, what form will it take? Costly, vindictive libel suits? MSM harassment of bloggers as "public figures"? Tougher libel laws, or some other unforeseeable, nasty legislative clampdown?

[SoCalDem]

29. I can foresee a time a-comin' when the big-buck salaries will drop off

Why pay the lipglossed and fluffed stooges, when there are "webbies" who will do it for free???

Just as the entertainment divisions cut out a lot of writers, actors directors etc with :reality" tv.. What's more real, than real people diggiing through archives and articles to REAL events??

and I bet they will work cheap :)

[GetTheRightVote]

30. Yes, Yes, Yes, the new media in all its glory, truth seekers forward

:kick: