There I am in the paper again, acting like I know stuff. Gale Pifer writes a hefty feature for the Madison Daily Leader on technology's impact on the news business. Publisher Jon Hunter lets him print some of my observations on the role of blogs in your daily news diet:
Heidelberger readily admits his "Madville Times" is biased, slanted toward a "more liberal viewpoint. But everybody is biased. Every newspaper makes editorial choices. Editors and reporters pick stories that they think are important," said Heidelberger. "We impose an unfair expectation on newspapers, that they hide such political preferences in their reporting. Blogs labor under no such fakery. My biases and agenda are out in the open for everyone to see. Readers can take my reporting with as many grains of salt as they see fit.
"We'd be better off if newspapers and journalists went back to declaring their allegiances. Let Fox News drop fair and balanced and just say, 'Sure, we're Republicans'," he said.
Heidelberger believes blogs "fill a void with state news analysis. The mainstream press and the Internet offer lots of commentary on national issues, but very few thoughtful writers dedicate their efforts to analyzing state and local issues."
Heidelberger said that until newspapers, television and radio do more detailed reporting, "people will turn to online media to get those things they currently are not getting from the mainstream media" [Gale Pifer, "News Business Changes with Technology," Madison Daily Leader, 2013.05.02].
Permit me to amend the record: that last modified quote came from a paragraph I titled "Hope". I wasn't speaking about a lack of detailed reporting, but about a media-market demand filled by blogs:
People turn to online media to get things they don't get from the print and broadcast media. They turn to the Madville Times because, according to the occasional thank-you notes I get, the Madville Times gives them hope. I hear from South Dakota Democrats, progressives, and thinkers who read the Madville Times because the blog gives them comfort to know they are not alone. The blog gives them inspiration to see someone speak up against the powers that be. The blog gives them hope that maybe we can find the people, the resources, and the courage to change what needs to be fixed about South Dakota [CAH, e-mail to Pifer, 2013.04.13].
But whether you're seeking hope or detail, Hunter follows up by telling Pifer that all that online stuff is mostly crap:
"Most people still want facts," Hunter added. "When they want news about a local event, for instance, they'll go to the media they come to trust. People know that much of what is put on talk radio, blogs or Facebook is rumor or opinion, not fact" [Pifer, 2013.05.02].
Hmmm.... I'm sure I've mentioned a rumor or two... but I humbly suggest that darn near every post on this blog is rooted in fact hyperlinked whenever possible to the original sources. I also offer a comment section that allows curious and informed readers to challenge my opinions, correct my facts, and improve the story by submitting verifiable facts of their own. In that regard, I provide Madison and South Dakota with better access to facts, analysis, and opinion than anything the Madison Daily Leader has done online or in print since the beginning of the Information Age.
Nonetheless, it's still fun to get in the paper.
* * *
Pifer's article mentions that the Leader "intends to offer a new paid site which would have all of the content. Hunter expects the new electronic version to be a hit with those who seek warmer climates in the winter." I predict big clunky PDF of the printed broadsheet that still won't have a comment section, a sensible little "Like" button, or a decent editorial.
Hey, I like the big, clunky PDF version of the newspaper. If a newspaper has a great online version, that's good too. However, sometimes there's no substitute for seeing the PDF of literally the entire paper. Small stories and things they'd never bother putting online are right there, to catch your eye as you're reading other stories, just as they do in the print version.
I understand that some people like the streamlined, web version, but I find most of those sites to be shallow, poorly designed, and even more skewed with editorial bias by severely paring down the news that's "important" enough for the web. The PDF version contains all the local news that's sadly, slowly disappearing from news coverage.
Hunter is a demolition man:
I'm a walking nightmare, an arsenal of doom
I kill conversation as I walk into the room
I'm a three line whip, I'm the sort of thing they ban
I'm a walking disaster, I'm a demolition man
Bloggers aren't considered journalists for a reason. A majority of them are full of opinions and rumors, so I guess painting them with a wide brush is OK. It's not like it isn't done here with other occupations..... https://madvilletimes.com/2013/05/waln-keystone-xl-construction-camps-put-neighbors-at-risk-of-crime-violence/
Cory, you do provide some great insight to issues that are otherwise ignored by the mainstream media, but you miss most of what is going on in Madison. The Leader tells us what we need to know on a daily basis. Those details are important. There may well come a time where newspapers go away entirely because of changes in technology. It should be very interesting how local news will be distributed then.
Disclosure: I started working at the paper in 1984 ans while I am not a regular employee, I still contribute to the Leaer on a regular basis.
Re: Bloggers vs. Journalists—
A good journalist would make a distinction between bloggers who do solid reporting, rather than lazily using "blogger" as a sneering epithet—tarring them all with the same brush, if you will.
There are plenty of so-called "journalists" who do a much worse job than many bloggers (Hi CNN! Hi Fox! Hi New York Post!), but they unwarrantedly claim the respectability of Edward R. Murrow because they are "journalists"—unlike those dirty, pajama-wearing bloggers. (Or insert other lazy, self-serving stereotype of bloggers here if it works better.)
I like your blog because it gives me a different way of looking at things. I believe you should hear different points of view before you make up your mind. Thanks Cory for providing that service
Who, What, When, Where, Why make up journalism whether on a shredded log or a computer screen showing a blog.