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Healthy skepticism is lost in blog
(by Barbara Christian - April 29, 2009)
WINDOW ON MAIN STREET, BY BARBARA CHRISTIAN
Healthy skepticism is lost in blog
A bunch of us were talking about the state of the newspaper business and what appears to some to be its imminent demise. It seemed impossible that newspapers would cease to exist.
But then, we all have close ties to old-fashioned journalism. Some of us work in the business, two others had fathers who spent their whole careers in newspapers, and another looked forward to sitting down with a cup of coffee and reading the big floppy broad sheet.
The idea that we would no longer hear the "thwack" sound of the news hitting our doorstep every morning seemed unthinkable.
"Who would have believed the Rocky Mountain News would close up shop," one of us said of that legendary newspaper.
"And the Detroit Free Press is down to one section," added someone else. "And it's won a Pulitzer."
Another voice added, "Did you read where even the New York Times is laying off people?"
To state the obvious, these are hard times for the traditional news publications. Some blame the industry itself for not anticipating the social changes. Perhaps we didn't cater enough to the twittering and tweeting younger generation that now is lost to dubious forms of Internet news.
Perhaps we had written off the Internet as a fad that would never last. That's what buggy-whip makers said about the internal-combustion engine.
The frightening thing about all of this, aside from shuttered newspaper offices, printing plants, lost jobs and traditions, is what many are turning to get their news. Instead of swearing at the newspaper for presenting a view other than their own (and threatening to cancel their subscriptions), people are turning to the bloggers they agree with. And it's instantaneous news gratification.
Now, not all blogs are one sided -- the ones run by most credible news organizations, for instance, if they are doing their job and presenting all sides of a story or an issue.
The scary sites are those run by the lunatic wing-nut "citizen journalists" from both the far left and right of the political spectrum.
There is room for opinion in newspapers in the letters to the editor, guest columns and paid columnists. They write about issues from specific points of view, and they are identified by their placement in the paper. They are the writers' takes on the news, so don't call them "articles."
There was silence in the group discussing the death of newspapers. I think it was sadness. We could not visualize a life without the enjoyment of spreading out the paper and turning the pages as we sip our morning coffee.
We do it with the confidence that what we are reading has been seen by several pairs of eyes before it's as close to the facts as possible. No "Seven Headed Martian Baby" in those headlines. At least not until one is found.
Not so for some of the news you get on the Web. Yet some will devour the "information" without a smidgen of skepticism, because it fits their agenda.
To us, life without newspapers is unthinkable. Then, breaking the silence, someone offered a shred of hope. "Who wants to take a computer into the bathroom anyway?"
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