Also, Brandon, makes some very good points that are related. Even those journalists who are competent enough to manage the basics still often fail by taking “authorities” at their word (but he’s an ECONOMIST, of course he’s knows what he’s talking about) or completely ignoring their own biases (Think “gunman slaughters teenager on sidewalk” when the actual facts show that the “gunman” was 80, the “teenager” was an 18 year old crack addict, and the only reason anyone was “slaughtered” anywhere was because the “teenager” was attempting to rob the “gunman” while wielding a completely insignicant, not even worthy of a footnote, butcher knife.).

Thanks, I’ll take the “amateur” work of the bloggers any day over the pablum produced by the “professionals….”

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/07/18/cronkite/index.html

Presenting all the facts without filtering them through a reality filter is exactly what our news media is fucking up. Yes, this means that bias can and does have an impact. But presenting both sides of an argument without pointing out the complete bullshit that one side harbors is itself disingenuous.

Secondly there have been plenty of cases of prosecutors going after bloggers or people who have reporting information over the internet. They claim they are not journalists and so must give up their sources. (it has happened before to people in the middle of writing a book, but in these internet cases it has already been published). To me they are acting as journlists: they found information and reported it. To the prosector they are just gossips.

Of course then there’s the FEC and congress wanting to control what we say about politicians. Or the new FTC rules requiring disclosure (and as we all know regulation assumes you are guilty until you prove you are innocent, unlike criminal law, so bloggers better save your receipts ).

That to me is scary and a threat to the first amendment rights of the average person. And that is precisely why “is a blogger a journalist” is important. It is not just an academic excercise.

I know the comment about you sitting in the corner was facetious, but since I have your attention, M59 is responsible for the MMO genre of today. WoW would not be WoW without the work of NDS and M59. You guys should be very proud.

Unless you mean that M59 hasn’t gotten coverage because I don’t sit quietly in the corner and hope someone deigns to notice my good work? Heh.

At any rate, thanks for mentioning that the game will continue. That was always a high priority for us.

This.

I read your blog, see made up numbers and think you’re showing off for attention.

Sorry.

The difference with bloggers is that you know what you’re getting, and if they get it wrong usually someone will call them on it in the comments (and usually it’ll get corrected, or at least argued about). You can tell which blogs summarily delete dissenting opinions, and which blogs just delete the worst of the raging trolls.

I’m not saying you are wrong for wanting integrity, I just don’t think you’ll find it where you think you will (journalists). And I don’t blame the journalists when they’re just getting paid to pump out stories without fact-checking, they’re just doing their job.