Alaska Governor Sarah Palin makes sense in her comments reported by columnist Howard Kurtz in The Washington Post. Talking about media picking up on whispers that he infant son is not hers, Gov. Palin asked:
“When did we start accepting as hard news sources bloggers, anonymous bloggers especially? It’s a sad state of affairs in the world of the media today, mainstream media especially, that they’re going to rely on bloggers, anonymous bloggers, for their hard news information.”
Spot on. Maybe it is okay for bloggers to wail away, but it is not what professional journalism should do. On second thought it isn’t okay for bloggers to say anything they want. Check out the blog post by Wendy Davis in The Daily Online Examiner, one of several from Media Post.
“Davis refers to the case can always sue users themselves, and some are starting to do so. One case making headlines this week was brought by Steven Biegel, a chiropractor in San Francisco, against a former patient who slammed Biegel on the review site Yelp in November 2007.
“Biegel alleges in court papers that he was defamed by Christopher Norberg’s post, in which he complained about a billing dispute.” Takeaway? Check your facts.
John - good points - I’ve always agreed that editorial oversight adds to the legitimacy of true journalism. But in Sarah Palin’s case, if you espouse “family values” and then have the kinds of shenanigans that constantly surround her family, you’re just asking for both journalists and bloggers to attack. Happy new year!
Credibility is the biggest issue. Can we trust bloggers who don’t have to answer to anyone? It seems we’re headed down that path.