Via Wired:
For all the press that bloggers have received for revolutionizing journalism by bringing Gutenberg’s printing press to the digital masses, when push comes to shove, journalists who operate personal weblogs face an inherent conflict of interest. In the end, it’s the blogs that usually get short shrift.
Read the whole thing.
That’s Video Blogging, and the main stream media is picking up on the topic. Earlier this month the Wall Street Journal featured an article on the subject, and now BBC/Public Radio International/WGBH’s “The World” follows suit. Listen to the report here.
Actually, this came out Monday, but I didn’t get to it until today.
John Fund:
A stolen election in Washington state? Not if bloggers can help it.
The new media–talk radio, bloggers and independent watchdog groups–have followed up their success in exposing Dan Rather’s use of phony memos by showcasing another scandal: Washington state’s bizarre race for governor, which features a vote count so close and compromised it allows Florida to retire the crown for electoral incompetence. If Democrat Christine Gregoire, who leads by 129 votes and is scheduled to take the office Wednesday, eventually has to face a new election, it will have been in large part because of the new media’s ability to give the story altitude before it reached the courts.
Fund also mentions Stefan Sharkansky, founder of Soundpolitics.com, a blog that’s been all over this scandal from the beginning. Stefan got additional press in the Seattle PI today.
…to Ann Althouse.
That’s the suggestion of Heather Mac Donald, who says that He’s gone too far this time.
Available at finer bookstores near you – “Inspector Dan Rather“.
…that Dean has pity on.
I don’t care what Apple announced today, nor what they plan to do next.
Via Drudge:
Tue Jan 11 2005 14:56:11 ET
The panel report is part of a process — a necessary process to deal with a difficult issue — at the end of which four good people have lost their jobs. My strongest reaction is one of sadness and concern for those individuals whom I know and with whom I have worked. It would be a shame if we let this matter, troubling as it is, obscure their dedication and good work over the years.
Yet good can come from this process if CBS News, and the hundreds of able professionals who labor every day to fill an essential public service in an open society, emerge with a renewed dedication to journalism of the highest quality. We should take seriously the admonition of the report’s authors to do our job well and carefully, but also their parallel admonition not to be afraid to cover important and controversial issues.
CBS News is a great institution with a distinct and precious legacy. I have been here through good times, and not so good times. I have seen us overcome adversity before. I am convinced we can do so again. That must be our focus and priority. And we can fulfill that objective by getting back to business and doing our jobs better than ever.
Lest anyone have any doubt, I have read the report, I take it seriously, and I shall keep its lessons well in mind.
Dan Rather
Jeff Jarvis suggests a cure for the “culture” problem at CBS – Viacom should sell.