January 30, 2004

Leveling the Playing Field

Robert Cox says the Blog Revolution is about holding journalists' feet to the fire, in a long piece that explains the nuts-and-bolts of doing so in the blogosphere:

In an age of media consolidation, anonymous sources, and sensationalism, readers represent the last bulwark against the journalistic fakery, sloppy editing and media bias which have emerged as the biggest threats to the integrity of the fourth estate. The Internet offers the average reader the tools needed to identify misquotes, distortions and lies - and the newest corner of the Internet, the blogosphere, provides an outlet to raise the alarm.

How many times do you read something in the newspaper you just know is hooey? You tell your spouse about it on the way out the door in the morning. Maybe you tell your co-workers or friends over lunch. You even consider calling into that talk radio show you hear on the commute home every day. But the day goes by, and you move on to other things, and another lie enters the collective consciousness unchallenged. Besides, what could you have done?

If you have Internet access, a sense of adventure and a bit of time on your hands, the answer is: quite a lot. The Internet - particularly the blogosphere - has leveled the playing field, making it possible for anyone to hold media outlets accountable for what they publish or broadcast.

Incidentally, Cox edits TheNationalDebate.com, a blog that takes on
Maureen Dowd and The New York Times over misquotes in Dowd's column., and also politics, policy and media.