Wednesday, March 09, 2005

blogs and media

a couple of interesting recent articles. The first is an excellent, fact-filled account of the rise of blogs and the difference between liberal and conservative blogs and media groups:
Blogged Down
Pseudo-journalistic Web sites are another way conservatives get around “the filter” of mainstream media. It’s a new medium, but, for the Republican Party, it’s an old story.

By Garance Franke-Ruta
Web Exclusive: 03.04.05
American Prospect
WaPo op-ed from over the weekend:
Life in the Spin Cycle

By Michael Kinsley
Sunday, March 6, 2005; Page B07

1 comment:

dewar macleod said...

I thought this part was important: "...Fox had the most pronounced slant. The cable TV outlet aired twice as many positive as negative pieces about the war.

That finding may be partly related to a larger tendency at Fox on all kinds of stories that allows on-air personalities to offer their personal opinions. Seven out of 10 Fox stories reviewed in the study included opinions not attributed to reporting. That happened in less than one of 10 CNN stories and in less than one of three stories aired on MSNBC."

the moral: some news sources are better than others; it is up to you, the reader, watcher and listener, to learn HOW to be "more discerning".