Monday, February 14, 2005

Well I'll Be.

Check out the link, and the links Jim Gerraghty gave. Interesting stuff.

So Eason Jordan resigned. I'm not sure what to think about this. On the one hand, you could think of it as the blogosphere achieving another victory, bringing to light those things that would otherwise be left alone by the media. On the other hand, and Hugh Hewitt makes this point, that this is just a continuation of the cover-up. By his resignation, the fuss over this mess will abate and nobody will care what the video does or does not say, or whether or not CNN has any evidence or whether or not CNN policies and the upper echelon need any revision or shaking up.

Some people are fearing the backlash of "blogs as a mob" commentary. It's been coming in since this thing began, but I suppose it's going to get big attention now. I maintain my original sentiments, however: MSM didn't care about this because, by and large, liberals assumed it was par for the course that US soldiers attacked journalists. It didn't occur to them as otherwise noteworthy. They've been there, done that, and protested the t-shirts. The story is important to them now that one of their own has stepped down because of it, and yes, there will be many stories about the "angry mob" theories of the blogosphere, but take it as a good sign. MSM will fear blogs over that more than anything else, but that will eventually play out as a good thing for all of us: If they learn to get things right, make timely corrections when necessary, and above all be accountable for the information they distribute, then so much the better. If it's because the blogs scared them straight, so be it. But we all win when that day comes.

In the meantime, I hope they will begin to realize that there is a new dynamic to journalism, and that there are people willing to hold them accountable for the things they say if they won't do it themselves.

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