You may have read by now about the blogger in Illinois who made up a story of a woman and her fetus, which was diagnosed in the womb as having a terminal illness....and how the woman gave birth anyway, winning praise from anti-abortion groups everywhere. The hoax was exposed because a photo of the "baby" actually showed a doll, and a woman who owned the same doll recognized it. That woman is quoted in the Tribune story : "She needs to be exposed and held accountable," Russell said.
Yea, you know where I'm going with this, right? How many times have legitimate newspapers made up stories? Yes, it has happened, as in the Janet Cook case. But it is such a rare event I was able to remember Cook's name without looking it up. Of course her fakery won her a Pulitzer Prize, so perhaps it is understandable I remember her.
How often do bloggers make stuff up? Hard to say, since there is no one looking over their shoulder to expose them and hold them accountable when they turn fiction into news. Are bloggers the new journalists, and blogs the new newspapers? If so, I would advise blog consumers to travel very very carefully in search of the truth. Because unlike most newspapers, the blogger has little or nothing to lose by making stuff up.
[ADDENDUM: In a Montgomery Advertiser column, John Moon blasts the textbook "scandal" at UA as a PR failure. And he takes a shot at one of my least favorite PR practices...the news conference that isn't. They bring someone out to the forest of microphones to speak and then refuse to take questions. If the media had any guts it would refuse to attend those non-events. Just send me your news release.]
[ADDENDUM: CNN criticised for its mild weekend coverage of unrest in Iran. Twitter plays a role]
[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this blog.]
How often does Tim Lennox make stuff up? Hard to say, since there is no one looking over his shoulder to expose him and hold him accountable when he turns fiction into news. Are bloggers the new journalists, and blogs the new newspapers? If so, I would advise blog consumers to travel very very carefully in search of the truth. Because unlike most newspaper journalists, Tim Lennox has little or nothing to lose by making stuff up.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...
williakz
Ya know, I try to just read comments here and let them be, but...uh..I WROTE the post. Ya think I didn't have a clue that it applies here as well? Honest. I really Do read these before I hit "publish".
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you read your blog postings, Tim. It's hard not to when you're the one writing them, isn't it? The problem is you don't THINK about what you're writing (and reading).
ReplyDeleteI've written before criticizing your silly ideas regarding the gatekeeping function of the "traditional" media. You may have once had a point in the area of hard news reporting, but you and your colleagues long ago succumbed to presenting opinion dressed up as news reporting. Once you gave into bias, you abused your position of trust and forfeited any claim to journalistic professionalism and its perquisites. That you were not aware of this change was due to the insulated position you occupied coupled with what I assume was a healthy dose of self-deception. Well, that comfy cocoon no longer exists for you.
After APT, you are just another voice among millions and yours is just another opinion, given no immunity from criticism due to your once-vaunted gatekeeper role in a highly selective, liberally-biased mainstream media outlet. You are now directly exposed to those whose views you avoided hearing and acknowledging during many years. You must decide for yourself whether such exposure is a net benefit; many other bloggers have determined it to be a wonderful source of education, inspiration, and, yes, sometimes correction and even castigation.
When your product (opinion) is forced to compete with other brands on the open market, you cannot demand consideration other than that freely given on the basis of merit. You must earn your position anew each and every day, rather than paying your dues once and collecting the benefits as the business once operated. That world is gone for opnion writers attempting to pass themselves off as unbiased journalists. You have already dropped your past pretenses of political and ideological neutrality. Good. Your views must now stand or fall on the strength of your arguments. Also good. The whining about the "good old days?" Bad.
Welcome to the brave new world, Tim.
williakz
To williakz--
ReplyDeleteWhatever.
Wordsmith running low on stock?
ReplyDeletewilliakz