For this week's assignment, I made a blog on Blogger.com, one that Welch had written about. I added some featues that interested me and posted some of the responses written for class. I also commented on the Stone and Shafer responses with some interesting quotes the guys shared in interviews.
My website is: http://thoughtthirsty.blogspot.com/
In addition to make the blog, I wrote a response to the Welch articles and posted it. It is shorter than a standard response, since I created the blog, but still about 500 words or so.
Of all the themes in Matt Welch’s pieces, one thing that struck me was his ongoing criticism for censorship and restrictions. Unafraid of insults or quick punches at new moguls, Welch is sure to disparage of anyone who dares limit an individual. Whether it is arguing to the defense of Geoffrey Davidian’s Putnam Pit, or Sergio Bichao’s DaHiller!, no organization is too small for attention. Censorship is censorship.
Especially interesting is his look at “Woe is Media” an article that contains the byline, “It’s time to save journalism from its saviors.” This piece criticizes A-list journalism advocates such as Bill Kovach, Tom Rosenstiel, Alfred A. Knopf and Jim Bellows. These celebrities are not only highly respected in the field of journalism, but also authors of books I have been required to study for journalism classes here at Miami. Though, much like Shafer’s attacks on the Shield Law, my pre-exposure seemed to automatically want to argue in favor of such works.
Yet, Welch’s arguments are both articulate and convincing. A journalist should always seek the truth and encompass the ideals those such as Kovach and Rosenstiel so adamantly favor, but the new wave of media is not to blame for the costs of people’s negative feelings toward journalism. It’s the over-sensationalism of crimes and corporate competition that is killing the quality of news. Everyone wants to beat out the competition and it has led to hurried deadlines that often create mistakes, or lack of heart in a reporter’s piece. Surely it is hard to be passionate about every assignment a reporter is given, but one should always keep in mind that when reporting a crime, both the victim and the criminal have families.
While I am not claiming that these pieces should be written at a bias, it should be a consideration towards the serious nature of the piece. Journalism affects people; both those involved in a story and those without any affiliation. People should make sure the truth is done justice.This is, as Welch argues, a major positive of this new journalism era. As Welch’s article, “Emerging Alternatives: Blogworld” states, due to the new allowance for blogging, “Freedom of the press belongs to nearly three million people.” This concept is stunning. While blogging does have its negatives, the fact that there are people out there pushing journalists to do their best is a great motivation.
These people should not be censored. If anything, the professionalism of a blogger should merely be a bigger consideration when a person is reading a site on the internet.Welch is certainly not the first to criticize censorship. The idea was established as early as those of our Founding Fathers.
He is, however, a sound voice that brings its importance to contemporary public attention.
My questions for Welch are:
1) You write about several injustices derived from censorship in your writing. Where do you come across all these article assignments and which do you feel has generated the most irritation?
2) If a journalism student shouldn't study the works of the writers mentioned in your "Woe is Media" aritcle, who should they look to for proper advice on becoming a journalist?
3) In several of your pieces, you begin with a narrative. What are some other techniques you think journalists today should use when writing a piece? [30]
Nick Engel
In my readings of Matt Welch I noticed a common theme in a few of the selected articles given to the class. The theme that I noticed was based around the idea of a media monopoly and his answer to critics that believe in this monopoly. My favorite example that best defines his feelings towards this ideal came from the article “Free Sam Zell”. In this article he attacks activist Harold Feld who wrote, “The conversation we ought to be having is, ‘How do we break up the media barons the way Teddy Roosevelt broke up Standard Oil?’” Harold Feld feels that the media in the United States has become standardized and a type of monopoly. As a response to this statement Matt Welch goes on to say, “OK, Harold, let’s have that conversation. Here goes: Standard Oil, unlike every “Big Media” company you despise, was a monopoly (and no, merely repeating the myth year after year does not magically make it so). End of conversation.” This statement by Matt Welch summarizes his views on the topic and shows he has very personal feelings on the subject. Using other articles by Matt Welch we can further analyze and discuss this topic of the media monopoly.
When reading Matt Welch I often felt like I was re-reading points made by Jack Shafer who wrote the media monotony on the same topic. In “Media Monotony” by Jack Shafer we see Jack make the point that, “in the long run, competition and the dynamism of markets keep any five media conglomerates from dictating "what most citizens will learn.”. This point is often echoed by Matt Welch as we see in his article “Woe is Media” where he states, “They [critics] also reinforce the mores of the country’s elite newspapers while exuding a hostile ignorance toward the publishing explosion on the World Wide Web and the boom in cable news.” In both of these examples Matt and Jack are trying to combat critics that are stating that the media monopoly/monotony is worse than ever before. Matt and Jack’s point is that the big media companies have more competition then ever with the explosion of new technology and the internet. Personally, before reading Jack Shafer and Matt Welch the idea of huge media was a concern. But, Jack and Matt have made solid arguments allowing me to see their side of the debate. I agree with them in the aspect of the internet creating a great resource for fact checking and competition. The main worry for me personally is that the average person must now take an active role in finding their news sources to find diversity and not just listen to the 11 o’clock local news to find varied sources.
The fear that the average citizen will not be active in finding varied news sources is addressed by Matt Welch in the article “Free Sam Zell”. In this article Matt sates that, “newspapers and television stations owned by the same parent get along about as well as Sunni and Shia, only with less inter-marrying.” This is an answer to the concern that if a passive role is taken by the average citizen whose local television company is owned by the same company that operates their local newspaper they will only get a one sided view of the news. While Matt’s argument makes sense and is often seen in large media companies it does not erase my fear of the situation of all major local media in an area being owned by the same company. A parent company can make major decisions about what programming is allowed and what programming is not allowed. If this parent company owns both the major television and the major newspaper source in one area, I feel that they could have a major impact on the information given to the average citizen in the area. While many competing forms of media and journalisms are available now more than ever the citizen must take an active role in their information gathering.
Another argument we see Matt Welch discuss is the idea that more competition leads to an exaggeration of news stories to get more attention on your story then your competition. We see Matt discuss this argument in “Woe is Media” where he states, “Downie and Kaiser are more concerned by the way this audience choice has intimidated owners and managers of news organization into trying to outpander one another by using fashionable gimmicks to win the contest for higher circulation or higher ratings and thus higher profits with sleazier programs and publications.” Matt Welch combats this argument by saying that the most successful news organizations are the country’s best. While many of the successful news programs out there are successful because of their accuracy and excellent reporting many media in our culture today that is successful would not be defined as the “country’s best” in my opinion. For example, as we discussed earlier in class many popular news sites like CNN, MSNBC and FOXNEWS have tabloid like articles on their front page for the purpose of generating more views not to report valuable news to their readers. Also, you can see this escalation in local news advertisement. Often these ads have sensationalized claims that are created to get more viewers regardless of the accuracy of the claim. Another example can be seen in popular entertainment magazines and tabloids that make completely false claims on their front covers to attract more readers. While I agree that most of the popular publications in this country are the most popular because of their great reporting the idea of sensational and sleazy programming is a major concern in our culture.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Matt Welch and reading his insights on the current status of journalism and media in America. I agree with many of the points made by Matt Welch and believe that the fear of the media monopoly are over exaggerated and we are in an age of outstanding competition and free speech. While I do not agree with everything Matt Welch said in his articles, I feel he has a great writing tactic of refuting others claims and backing up his own claims much like Jack Shaffer. [30]
Jason Andrews
“Matt Welch is editor in chief of Reason magazine.” and from that simple line given to us in the short biography I had initially determined that he would resemble Nick Gillespie in his style—or at least his personality portrayed through his writing. In a way I was correct, and throughout his works I believe Matt implores a satirical commentary in his writing. The comedic undertones do show a relation between the two Reason editors, however this is not a compare and contrast paper, more so an analysis of Matt’s works.
With that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed Matt Welch’s writing. He shows his strength is research and fact-finding, however his fluid incorporation of both those helps hide the banal research paper one might expect upon hearing that previous commentary. Particularly in his opinion writing Matt commands attention with his playful arguments that entice the reader weather they agree or not.
“Any young McCain worth his salt could convert a grudge into motivational sustenance and torment his tormentors with defiant lip.” Matt writes. Its structure reminds me of a fictional book not of a political opinion article. Maybe that is why I was drawn to his writing, maybe it was because the story subtly dismantles McCain’s campaign and in all honestly anyone who can do that entertains me. The seven-page article titled “Be Afraid of John McCain,” maintains shock value while blatantly stating the thesis of his work. They enjoyable part was how it wasn’t a knockout dirty ass kicking given by the author, instead the article argued the points to good measure while keeping Matt a distance from “asshole”.
But this style isn’t restricted to his political preferences, in “Free Sam Zell,” Welch again uses his subtle style to argue his point to a tee.
“Ah, comes the rejoinder: Even though us fancy-lad elitists may enjoy a rich palate of media goodies the likes of which the world has never seen before, and even though it's never been cheaper or easier for an individual citizen to start his or her own damned publication with the potential to permanently alter the very news cycle, what about those poor 15% or fewer of the people who don't have cable or satellite, don't have an Internet connection and get most of their current-affairs information from local TV news?”
Matt’s anecdotal writing even offers a connection to the reader, its created on a more common plane that one might assume from such a distinguished and successful writer. But then again that may be just how Matt Walsh came to be so successful. As a writer I can only assume that he is passionate about the arguments he chooses to defend and if not, I tilt my hat a bit further in appreciation, because as a reader I would never know.
As the prompt stated “themes” were to be discovered and assessed in Matt’s writing. While I believe I have already hit on one—his style, I turned my focus onto the structure of his articles. The first and probably the easiest trend to recognize in his writings is that throughout his articles, weather opinion or otherwise, he starts with a background, a foundation for the remainder of his writing. “This February, I attended my first Association of Alternative Newsweeklies conference,”(The New Amateur…) or “February of 1961 should have been the high point of first baseman Julio Bécquer's life,” (The Cuban…) even “McCain had already spent the previous three years lining up Bush’s campaign team, making nice with the social conservatives he railed against in the 2000 primaries, and positioning himself as the most hawkish of all the nomination-chasing Republican hawks.”(Be afraid…) Oddly in writing that I noticed another trend, “February.” I think I will ignore that one for the time being.
Overall I found Matt Welch to be an entertaining writer and his structure and style similar to a blog or fictional novel appeals to the masses and connects t the reader. In comparison to Walter Benjamin and other translated works these reads were recreational and definitely a much needed break.
Questions:
You have definitely worked for a variety of media outlets throughout your career, from blogging to opinion articles to founding a newspaper. Through all those experiences, which have been the most, rewarding for you and your work?
Expanding on the previous question, your different careers have allowed you to grow along with technology and web 2.0. My second question is how do you think medias transition to the internet — faster news, blogging, opinion and gossip based sites— will inevitably effect future generations and the types and methods of news they receive?
“Be Afraid of President McCain” alluded to, what I am assuming is your personal opinion of this presidential candidate, and helped fuel an ever increasing media coverage even bias in this particular political race. I was wondering, with this expanding media coverage of the presidential campaign and current politics do you think voters are actually becoming more informed, or tainted by transparent bias? [30]
Megan Skelton
It is difficult to find a common thread in terms of content with the assigned articles written by Matt Welch. In part because the subject of each of the articles is so different, but also in part because there is a change in style of writing through out. With each article I had to remind myself that it was the same writer. I thought I had him pinned just in the first article, “Be Afraid of President McCain”, but was quickly corrected when moving on to “Free Sam Zell” and “BlogWorld”.
In the first article I noticed a writing style in which Welch built up a series of facts and then reinforced those facts by making sure the reader was receiving the pattern. For example, “If you’re beginning to detect a rigid sense of citizenship and a skeptical attitude toward individual choice, you are beginning to understand what kind of president John McCain actually would make…” Then in the second article, in addition to an excruciating number parentheses, Welch poses a number of questions, only to answer them in the next sentence. Example: “You know, those lovely but ignorant other people who but for the iron hand of media consolidation would be perfectly informed and would thus vote, consume and otherwise behave the way we, the rightly guided, know they ought? Why shouldn’t they get federal protection from the dreaded possibility that a single company might own both a newspaper and a television station? The answer gets to Part Two of the Personal Experience test…”
But if I had to choose a common theme in the personal opinions of Matt Welch I would have to pick out the matter of his knowledge of and liking of web blogs and the online media. I will refer mostly to three main articles in which I noticed this theme: “BlogWorld”, “New Jersey’s Teen Matt Drudge”, and “Woe is Media”. Let me first say that in general, I was fond of Welch’s writing style and found his overall subject matter enjoyable…especially when it came to his quirky stylistic one liners like “that pretty much sums up the recommendations offered in The News About the News, an embarrassment of a book that, if labeled honestly, would have been called Why Aren’t You As Good As We Are?”. The latter is a pull from his “Woe is Me” article. However, in several of the articles I became frustrated by the number of pull quotes used and the number of asides in parentheses. The sheer number of quotations made it difficult to decipher what is was that he was actually trying to convey. I digress.
So, firstly in “BlogWorld”, after expressing a bit of frustration in the monotony of traditional newspapers and amateur journalists in general, Welch reveals the wonder of the Weblog saying “there still exists a publishing format that manages to embody all these lost qualities, and more –“. Welch indulges the reader about his history with the World Wide Web, blogging in particular. He reveals all of the ups and downs of the web realm for journalists. If wondering what all of these millions of people who have now all of a sudden become “journalists” are offering to journalism, he clears it right up. “Four things: personality, eyewitness testimony, editorial filtering and uncounted gigabytes of new knowledge”. Another reason Welch finds this media to be such a leap for the field is that these bloggers or amateurs are “learning how we do our work, becoming in the process more sophisticated readers and sharper critics”.
While “BlogWorld” is solely concentrating on the splendor of the Weblog, the other two articles just offer bits that continue to remind you of Welch’s fondness. In “Woe is Media”, Welch denies the fact that journalism is a dying profession, one which is doomed to a terminal fate. He says that despite the looming topic of consolidation of media ownership, the glass is not half empty. By 2002, “a single Web publishing company called Pyra Labs could report that new sites were being created using its ‘Blogger’ technology at a rate of 1.5 per minute”. Later in the article he expresses that more writers should be taken from the online world in order to spice up the traditional newspaper: “…maybe one in 5,000 have been plucked from the fertile minor leagues of online journalism, at a time when Internet punditry has exploded in popularity while newspaper op-ed sections continue to disappoint”.
Finally, in “New Jersey’s Teen Matt Drudge”, Matt Welch conveys an admiration in the advanced position of this particular teen blogger from New Jersey, comparing him to the teen version of Matt Drudge. In the interview he somewhat envied how evolved teen, Sergio Bichao was for his age thinking “Damn, I was nowhere where he is now on my best day”.
I found a quote from Bichao’s “Mission Statement” to be interesting as a testimony for his own blog, and for online blogs in general. He writes, “these beasts have never before had to deal with the blinding, ugly light of truth mirrored by a little underground website”. So I guess you don’t have to be a hotshot journalist at a renowned publication to speak the truth.
Welch, in each of these articles finds a way to sneak in his admiration for the online realm, while simultaneously alluding to the often staleness of traditional media today.
Three Questions for Welch:
How and when did you emerge into the journalism profession?
Have you opinions changed about John McCain as we near closer to the election and you learn more about Obama, or would you write the same article now, more than a year later?
Have you written more for ESPN in the past, or was your article, “The Cuban Senators” your one dip into sports journalism? [30]
Scott Turner
This week we read articles from Matt Welch, who is the current editor if Reason Magazine and has also contributed to many influential publications, all varying in their subject matter. For this response paper, first I have to comment on the McCain piece, but then I want to take a look at what he had to say about current trends in journalism in both his piece on Bloggers and the article "Woe is Media: It's time to save journalism from its saviors."
The first piece is a scathing review of John McCain's books and subsequently his history in politics, using the senator's own words to illustrate how a McCain presidency would be a disaster for our country. Welch asserts that McCain would be solely focused on reestablishing pride in the America though a show of military might and government expansion. He argues that it's something that McCain learned from his fathers and has continually focused on his political career, an ideology exemplified through his early support of the surge idea. "If you think George W. Bush had an itchy trigger finger," Welch says, "you ain't seen nothing yet."
The piece was really illuminating for me because it outlined the roots of McCain's philosophy in a way that put his historically libertarian-appearing stances together with the recent flip-flops of social policy positions. I originally supported McCain against Bush in the '00 and '04 primaries because of what I thought was his strong ideological convictions. I didn't realize how much he had (and would continue to) pandered to all sorts of conservatives solely for political gain. All this comes together to paint a picture of a man who, while probably more intelligent than Bush (although that's debatable considering his class ranking at the Naval Academy), is likely much more dangerous for our country than I had imagined.
By the end of the essay, I trusted Welch as a writer though his portrayal and criticisms of McCain, which I think were right on (even if I'm a little biased). I thought he was especially accurate when he described McCain as "the straight-talking maverick that journalists love to quote but rarely examine in depth." Journalists nowadays have such a short attention span that they don't really look behind the quotes to see who the person really is and what sort of a president he would really make, and McCain has benefited from this greatly throughout his entire political career and especially this candidacy.
Which leads me to the other articles I want to focus on in this essay; "The New Amateur Journalists Weigh In" and "Woe is Media," both of which examine the current state of journalism, but from different angles. The former takes a bottom up approach that talks about how bloggers are affecting the journalism profession, and the latter talks about the hypocritical ideologies put forth by journalists who have been venerated by influential news organizations.
"The New Amateur Journalists Weigh In," talks about how even though the alternative papers of today have deteriorated into the same boring thing, blogging has reopened the window for the everyday citizen to "storm the ramparts of professional journalism." I can't say that a lot has changed between 2003 when the article was written and now, but I think that they ability of bloggers to provide independent criticism of politics and the media itself is a necessary and welcome addition to American discourse. The addition of character, transparency, and the ability of bloggers to rigorously fact-check any news story has made news organizations reconsider how journalism is done in a way that benefits the citizens more than any other development in the history of the profession itself. The increased accountability put on the reporter and the need to get out news quickly to the web has returned massive gains for the consumer, who is rightfully skeptical about where their news is coming from.
As for "Woe is Media", I read the Elements of Journalism as the textbook in my Journalism 101 class and while I could never put my finger on it then, I always felt that there seemed to be an ulterior motive behind the ideological rhetoric that seemed to downplay the contributions of independent (and political-leaning) journalists and organizations to the field. Welch hit the nail on the head when he said that "It's a handy trick, to diagnose a terminal illness while claiming to corner the market on the cure."
So essentially what they end up doing is downplaying these independent voices, lamenting the "fragmentation of the American public." I wholeheartedly agree with Welch here when he asserts that the public is better served now that they have more places to get their media, mirroring my opinion of the role blogs have to play in contributing to journalism and the free flow of information. Monopolistic news organizations don't further the diversity of opinion we need, they homogenize it.
And this is where Welch ends up in his article, saying that "Journalism may need some long-faced fellows to look backward and tell us how things have gone badly, but that species is in more than adequate supply." What we really need are people willing to go out there and establish new bold voices. "The good news is that the current scene -- including but not limited to the wide-open World Wide Web -- looks promising on that score." That's why I read The Huffington Post.
Questions for Matt Welch:
What do you have to say about Kovach and Rosenstiel's "Elements of Journalism" being used as the textbook for Intro to Journalism classes?
Are there any currently updated blogs that you think consistently 'do journalism' better than mainstream newspapers?
Do you think that Sarah Palin has been unfairly scrutinized by the media? [30]
Lyndsay Ehrmann
The idea of mass media and mass deception go hand-in-hand in Adorno’s “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception.” However, it is important to remember the historical context of this piece-it was written in 1944 when mass media was just beginning to make a major name for itself, and the variety that is awarded to us in our modern-day mass media selections were not available at this time. In reading several of Matt Welch’s articles, I started to think about this theme, and how our changing mass media selections can now justifiably argue that “The Culture Industry,” in many ways, no longer exists. Matt Welch’s articles successfully disprove that, through the new ways mass media is now delivered to the public, it no longer takes a standardized form-completely void of spontaneity and original ideas, with the singular goal being to brainwash people into a society following the values and norms represented to them daily. Welch makes a case of this by keenly observing such things as the freedom of the World Wide Web (especially blogging), the popularity of alternative forms of media, and the awareness of society both in their choice of media to be consumed and their ability to participate in it.
In a short review of “The Culture Industry,” it examined how the emergence of mass media is not about producing new, original ideas; rather, it focuses on selling, distributing, and servicing monotonous ideas to an intellectually silenced society. He argues that all mass media forms are completely void of originality-their only goal being to produce a standardization of life. He also claims that the audience (the general public) has no choice in the matter, and mindlessly consumes the media-they let it shape their reality, never questioning any ideas being fed to them. That may have been true in the 1940’s, but the media world now is a very different story; does this environment still exist? Matt Welch’s articles certainly prove otherwise…
One of the major themes in Welch’s defense of mass media is the freedom of journalists, and also the changing freedoms of consumers, that comes with the enormous growth of the internet as a media form. This idea was best portrayed in his article, “Emerging Alternatives: Blogworld.” In this text, Welch describes the impact blogging has had on the world of mass media and journalism, and how it’s emergence has opened a lot of doors-changing monotonous patterns of past mass media. He talks about how blogging does so many things to completely go against “The Culture Industry”-it is a new media form that is open to anyone for participation (not only the elite), is not controlled by the few elite who form the societal norms, is not run for economical growth, and can appeal to certain target audiences (consumers can choose what they want to consume). He describes this phenomenon as, “Blogging technology has, for the first time in history, given the average Jane the ability to write, edit, design, and publish her own editorial product-to be read and responded to by millions of people, potentially-for around $0 to $200 a year.” This quote, in itself, illustrates the exact anti-“Culture Industry.” Anyone can present their ideas to the general public, the general public can choose which ideas they want to read (while also responding with their thoughts), and it is clearly not economically-driven. It is also important to note his illustration of the importance of new author-reader connections. In blogging, the void of author-audience connection talked about in both Benjamin and Adorno’s works, is filled-readers now have the chance to personally interact and respond back to, through messaging, the blogger’s ideas. Criticism is even welcome! With the internet and blogging technology, less popular ideas can also be presented without filtering; an ideal non-existent in the culture industry. Overall, this media form’s resistance of Adorno’s ideas is best described by Welch as saying, “At this instant, all over the world, bloggers are busy popularizing underappreciated print journalists pumping up stories that should be getting more attention, and perhaps most excitingly of all, committing impressive, spontaneous acts of decentralized journalism.”
Matt Welch also talks about current alternative media forms having the traits of both growing in popularity and giving consumers/producers equal rights to both participate and choose what to consume-two additional major ideas not agreeing with “The Culture Industry.” In his article, “New Jersey’s Teen Matt Drudge,” he talks about an average teen in a modern high school that started an alternative “underground” school newspaper online displaying both of these values. Sergio Bichao started “DaHiller,” a school news source not moderated by authority (the principal, teachers, etc.) that grew in popularity as the student body welcomed it with open arms. The result was anything but “The Culture Industry”-authority tried to mediate/ban it, but was not successful. The fact that kids that young are starting these trends as well proves that the ideas of “The Culture Industry” are dying out just as fast as mass media continues to grow in uncharted variety. Bichao, after the controversy and his subsequent victory over authority, is quoted as saying, “These beasts have never before had to deal with the blinding, ugly light of truth mirrored by a little underground website. They’ve tried to have me punished; they’ve tried to have me take it down under my own accords and then brought in my parents when that did not work. But lo and behold, here we are!”
Overall, Welch molds a common theme into his articles supporting the growth of mass media channels as building individuality through media in a way that was not possible before. Through the invention of such things as the World Wide Web and blogging technology, the ideals of “The Culture Industry” are truly being crushed-instead replaced by a world of journalism where everyone who desires, with motivation, can make their voice heard. We should definitely take advantage of this exciting new stage in our culture!
Three Questions for Matt Welch
Relating to the article about McCain-
What do you think of McCain’s stance at such a crucial time in his campaign with the current economic crisis that is unfolding? And also, out of curiosity, the decision of making Palin his partner in the role of Vice President?
Obviously the growth of new forms of media, especially the internet, is very important to our culture. How do you see it affecting the media world in the years to come?
What do you see being defined as “alternative media” in the future? (As our current alternative media is starting to become more standardized, and no longer fits it’s true definition.) [30]
Cassie Gladden
“Technology has removed most barriers to entry, ushering in literally hundreds of thousands of new publications, some of which are altering the very way we produce and consume the news,” (Woe 1.) One of those new technologies is blogs. Matt Welch discusses this new form of media and its affect on the art of journalism in many of his articles. This essay will not only examine how blogs have affected journalism, but will also discuss the societal impacts blogs have had and how blogs have influenced media.
The internet has allowed users to accesses information with the click of a button. It has allowed people to be in constant communication. It has also, in the form of blogging, “….given the average Jane the ability to write, edit, design and publish her own editorial products,” (New Amateur 3.) The simplicity of creating a blog has permitted anyone the opportunity to write about anything. Matt Welsh explains in his essay, “The New Amateur Journalist Weigh In,” that people turn to blogs because of the blogs, “narrowest of editorial claims,” the ability of the columnist to “connect intimately” and their “forever fact-checking” nature.
Although some blogs are frivolous, random people telling the world about their personal lives, many have turned into a new way to consume the news.
They have altered journalism by allowing everyone to be a published writer. According to Technorati, a company who tracks and researches blogs, there are currently 133 million blogs recorded since 2002. Blogs have brought freedom of press to millions of people..
This influx of armature journalist has forced the professionals to become better. Journalist must provide the most accurate stories, or else loose all credibility because of a fact-checking blogger. Marc Herold made this mistake in December 2001 when he estimated how many military civilians had died in Afghanistan. Bloggers questioned his statistic and found he had been off by over a thousand. Blogs have also caused journalist to be more diverse in their reporting. Unlike traditional media that, “[is] busy contracting, standardizing, and homogenizing” blogs are niche and diverse (New Amateur 6). Therefore, journalists have learned that they must report on a variety of subjects or loose audience to a blogger.
“Blogs are a global phenomenon that has hit the mainstream,” (Technorati) In addition to the effects blogs have had on journalism, blogs have had a substantial impact on society at large. In Matt Welch’s story, “New Jersey’s Teen Matt Drudge,” he mentions how the Columbine shootings were forecasted by the two killers website. On that website, Eric Harris, one the two gunman, wrote a blog where he expressed his desire to kill. He also posted a hit list (Columbine 1). Although not taken seriously at the time, it is why sites like, DaHiller, caused such concern at Hillside High School. Teachers and faculty were upset saying, “they feel that this is their livelihood and that can be compromised…” (New Jersey 6.)
Blogs Effect on Marketing Strategies
The marketing implications of this new type of media are substantial. Marketers are using blogs to post advertisements and to capitalize on the viral marketing opportunities that blogs present. Although only 54% of blog sites have advertisements featured on them, it is likely that that number will only grow (Kaye 1). This is because advertisers are realizing the popularity of these types of sites. “Blogs have representation in top-10 web site lists across all key categories” (How Blog 1). Blogs also offer targeted marketing due to the narrow and sometimes obscure nature of the blog. This is also appealing to marketers.
Consumers are responding less to traditional marketing such as television commercials or direct mail. People are responding much more to tactics like word-of-mouth or viral marketing. Seth Godin, marketing guru, explains why, "ideas delivered through groups of people are far more powerful than ideas delivered at an individual." Blogs, because of their ability to connect with readers and the blogger’s opinionated nature, have been excellent tools in viral marketing, “Blogs are key in generating online buzz to make a viral campaign successful (How Blog 1.)” People listen to what other people have to say and their opinions are consequently affected. Without any advertising or promotion, Bryan and Jeffery Eisenberg’s book, “Call to Action,” raced up the New York Times and Amazon.com’s best sellers lists. The reason was online generated, word-of-mouth driven sales. (Rodgers 1.)
In an age of change where technology is constantly evolving Matt Welsh recognizes how journalist should stop resisting the changes and adjust. He points out the positive aspects of the web and blogging technology such as “a kind of reader interaction far more intense and personal than anything comparable in print,” (New Amateur 7.) Welsh also speaks about the implications blogging has had on his profession, such as the “fact-checking nature” of blogers, which has increased the accuracy of journalistic professionals. He also talks about the effects a blog can have on society, citing Sergio Bichao, Hillside High junior, who wrote a tell-all blog about his high school. Lastly, blogs have had a major effect on marketing offering new avenues to advertise and new ways to promote a product.
In your article "The new Amateur Journalist Weigh in," you speak about how the "average Jane" can become a journalist. What influence do you think video content will have on journalism and society at large? Also where do you see journalism in five years?
In this class we talk about media and how it effects our culture. I was wondering how the media influences you personally and how the changing technologies have affected you professionally?
In many of your articles you focus a singular person: Geoffrey Davidian, Sergio Bichao, and Julio Becquer. Who has been the most outrageous person you have met? Who had the biggest influence on you?
Works Cited
"How Blog Advertising Helped Video Series Go Viral." MarketingSherpa. 26 Sept. 2007. MarketingSherpa LLC. 28 Sept. 2008
Kaye, Kate. "About Half of Bloggers Have Ads on Their Sites." ClickZ. 29 Sept. 2008. The ClickZ Network. 30 Sept. 2008
Lieb, Rebecca. "A "Meatball Sundae" Meet Up." ClickZ. 18 Jan. 2008. The ClickZ Network. 29 Sept. 2008
Mara, Janis. "Gawker Media, Nike Team for Blog Promotion." ClickZ. 4 June 2004. The ClickZ Network. 28 Sept. 2008
"State of the Blogosphere / 2008." Technorati. Technorati, inc. 28 Sept. 2008
Chelsea Clements
I enjoyed these readings the most because of their relation to blogs, internet technologies and Web 2.0, themes that I can identify with. Matt Welch talks about the power of online media and user generated content in his writings about Sergio Bicaho's DaHiller, Geoffrey Davidian's Putnam Pit and the effect on the world of blogging post September 11, 2001.
I first fell in love with Interactive Media Studies during my IMS 201 class with Aaron Shirmplan. It was in this class that I first learned about Web 2.0 and User Generated Media. Our class studied examples of the citizen journalism, like the monk massacre in Burma, which is information we might have never seen if it had not been for an everyday citizen exporting information out of Burma via the internet. We learned about blogs and their ability to satisfy a niche that the traditional media overlooks.
Being something that I study and read on a daily basis, I think blogs are phenomenal. Many people feel like they have stories they need to tell, whether it's about a breaking news event in their community or a piece about some specialized knowledge they have. It gives a voice, that is not limited by geographical circulation or physical availability, to anyone who has something to say. There are plenty of magazines and other publications that attempt to satisfy a specific interest or hobby, but the internet opens up a whole new world to people. Soon, all people that have an interest in something can communicate and interact with each other, something that traditional does not have. "With personality and an online audience, meanwhile, comes a kind of reader interactive far more intense and personal than anything comparable to print." Says Welch.
In my career, which will hopefully begin in the next seven or eight months, my job will consist of using this online channel to being interaction with the public. It excites me to discover new ways to involve people, get messages across and involve the public in what you are doing.
Matt Welch some great examples of websites that have created buzz, controversy or a general conversation. When reading the story about DaHiller, I couldn't stop thinking about JuicyCampus.com. JuicyCampus is one of the worst things that has hit the internet in the entire history of the internet. It is website where anyone can access a school's JuicyCampus specific site and anonymously write anything that want about anyone or anything. Miami has managed to treat the website as a joke and not feed the fire, but at other campuses this website has ruined people's lives. Slanderous rumors and vulgar lies are posted on this website, yet all of it is protected under free speech. JuicyCampus cannot be sued and anonymous writers cannot be tracked.
According to Welch's article, DaHiller never got this bad. A website that might be more along the lines of DaHiller in terms of teacher evaluations is RateMyProfessor.com. This website also allows students to access a university specific site and write whatever they would like about the teacher's class, mannerisms, teaching style etc. This website does not allow vulgar language or inappropriate comments but does allow for harsh criticism of the teachers for all to see.
Like Welch points out, 90 percent of blogs are awful, just like 90 percent of sites that are heavy in user generated are awful. It's the 10 percent that change how people learn, communicate and interact that is fascinating.
Questions:1) I was a big fan of Rick Riely's Sports Illustrated articles and read them whenever I could steal the magazine from my father or brother's clutches. Do you feel that your piece "The Cuban Senators" in any way resembles one of his columns in terms of style, tone and subject?
2) In your article on the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, you say that blogging gives power to those who have a story to tell. What is the most compelling or haunting blog/story that you have read?
3) After reading your article "Be Afraid of President McCain," I feel like you could write a nice follow up called "Be Afraid of Vice President (and possible President if McCain kicks it during his term) Palin." Would you enjoy writing such a piece and what would you focus on in it? [30]
Meaghan Luby
Well, immediately upon reading his piece you realize that this is a journalist who knows what he is talking about and is planning on letting you in on it ALL. The sheer length of his pieces alone shows he is still passionate about his work, making it detailed and well rounded rather then a straight shot of news at your fingers like some writers and journalists can be accused of going for these days. There is a certain beauty to his writing, an eloquence, that as a creative writing major I really appreciated. For once someone who isn’t doing the… harsher approach one usually comes across in journalism. While he still has the “BAM! This is my opinion” style, it’s detailed, expansive, I love the way his articles flow almost seamlessly from one point to the next, as a reader you are so invested and interested in what he is saying you aren’t exactly aware how much information you have been absorbing, how many facts your mind has just computed and stored away, until you are done reading and then you get this overwhelming “wow” sense of feeling, suddenly you have an astounding amount of reasons to back up McCain being a military madman. Now what does one do with said information?
Which leads perfectly into my analysis of an article because, the first piece I read was in fact the John McCain as a authoritatian maverick article. In “Be Afraid of Presiden McCain: The Frightening Mind of an Authoritarian Maverick”, the title was honestly what drew me to opening this link before the others. Due to it being an election year and his being a candidate, obviously this article holds more pull then most and as someone who can finally vote, I am trying to absorb all I can about each party’s candidate and this was by far one of the more controversial things I have stumbled across. I now find myself cringing at the idea of voting for McCain whereas before I was still very torn between the two candidates. I am not so naive to take everything that was said to heart, I understand elaboration and artistic license plus while he seems credible, I have no way to know that for sure, (I am sure if your colleague reads this he is now indignant after such a string of compliments). The way this article was set up though was very interesting in its general…I don’t know how to explain it exactly. It’s almost like a story. When I was reading it, I found myself more within my element then I usually feel when reading journalism, this read almost more like a miniature (harsh) biography of McCain. I found myself simply caught up in the words, in where it was going, in the more information, the additional facts, that I was pulling from the article about a man who could possibly be the next president and how it was making me feel uneasy, literally worried, that he could fill that role. This article made him come off as a psychopathic soldier boy, the entire McCain family sounds like they are nearly brainwashing their generations of McCain’s to find the glories of war. Over and over again. I am not kidding nor exaggerating when I say I am more then somewhat frightened by the idea of electing a war hungry conservative, while he has always come off as moderate the true republican sides of him were painted out painfully in this piece. The McCain catch phrase that I had once found somehow powerful, “I would rather lose a campaign then a war”, now makes me physically cringe. In all seriousness, this article made me swerve dramatically away from McCain and his politics. I’m sure you’re Matt would be proud to have so effectively swayed a young voter. I’m very impressionable apparently…
Anyway, the second article I looked at was his piece “Woe is Media: It’s time to Save Journalism from its Saviors” which was also well written, intriguing, and once again long and detailed but I still found myself drawn into the story the entire time. And by story I mean article… again, I know I said this, but I loved the creative feel of his pieces. His tone of voice is also both entertaining and engaging. Part way through the article we have him saying “which is apparently comparable to communism, fascism, and er, whatever ism we were fighting in World War I. Secret-diplomatic-pactism, presumably…or was it Hapsburgism?” I mean, stellar. I loved this turn of phrasing, the sarcasm marring the tone and making it a more entertaining read. I like how many books he covered, different opinions and wonderings on the future of journalism. The finality of the piece being a sort of “well, whatever, it’s promising currently and the academics can figure out the rest later” plays along perfectly with the informative but light hearted tone that holds true throughout the piece. [30]
Mary DelGrande
The two articles that struck me as having a recurring theme were, “New Jersey’s Teen Matt Drudge,” and “Emerging Alternatives: Blogworld.” In Welch’s, “Blogworld” he discusses how amateur journalists are now able to post their stories online and join the professionals who are in this career. September 11, 2001, sparked the nation’s craze over blogging and everyone began to vent and discuss their emotions and thoughts via a web blog. Welch gives three different examples of blogs that exploded on September 11, his included. One example is a man who was trapped in a dust cloud of September 11, “Jess Jarvis, who was trapped in the WTC dust cloud on September 11, started his a few days later. ‘I had a personal story I needed to tell…then lo and behold! I discovered people were linking to me and talking about my story, so I joined this great conversation.’”
While this story is emotional, Jeff states that he had a story he needed to tell. Everyone has stories they need to tell but at the same time do not post them on web blogs to let their emotions out so they feel better about themselves. One key point in this article is credibility. If so many amateurs are posting daily on blogs about their daily lives or what occurs in the office without another point of view, how credible is that person as a source? Welch brings up a good point about these amateurs posting pictures, but what does that prove without background, or knowing anything about the writer? As a media consumer, I view all different kinds of media so that I am not biased on only one side and take one opinion. If I did that, I would not be a credible as a person discussing my opinions on the economy, the world, and the upcoming election.
In Welch’s other article about Matt Drudge, Welch introduces his readers to Sergio Bichao, a junior in high school who wrote for the newspaper but when his negative articles weren’t published he moved to an underground web blog about his high school. Bichao’s English teacher, Craig Hoek, initially took interest in Bichao and helped him with the school paper. When some of his articles weren’t published, Bichao was understandably upset, and then moved to another media: web blogging. At first it was a gossip site, then it escalated into a much larger ordeal where he was ranting about teachers and their disregard for school rules. “The biggest tempest came in early January, when Bichao reported that a teacher used a cell phone during class, in violation of school rules, and that the instructor was also ‘bi-polar’ and ‘eccentric’ to boot. While Bichao had credibility with other students, some teachers found him to be annoying and they themselves were angry. “In both cases many teachers were upset because they feel that this is their livelihood and that can become compromised…We’re all capable of indiscretions from time to time – it does not necessarily mean we want them broadcast in a public format.”
Both of these articles discuss credibility and are these people deserving of it? To be a credible journalist, one has to investigate, go behind the scenes, do some dirty work and produce truthful answers. When I read the Miami Student here, I look at it with a critical eye because I know that this is a very political campus and writers will have a tendency to be biased. While many people enjoy watching CNN and using that as their primary resource, it is a fairly liberal station and may over-exaggerate the news to persuade people to believe their side of the story. The Wall Street Journal, on the other hand, is conservative. That is the other paper that is offered in the dorms, along with the Miami Student, and I would read it almost everyday for the past two years. I enjoy reading this newspaper because my political view are conservative, but even then I keep a watchful eye for what the reporters are writing about and how credible they are.
Credibility for me is based on the amount of information in an article, how many people they interviewed to get their news, and if they were upfront or sneaky about their business. Under this category, Roger Stone is not a credible new source because he is a trickster and is sneaky about his methods of journalism. I love reading and viewing different types of media, but at the same time am very cautious about what I read and how credible I think the author is based on I’m reading and the way in which the story is told.
After reading your articles on Web blogs and Sergio Bichao, I noticed that credibility was a recurring theme. What defines credibility for you, and if you are reading a piece of writing from an unknown or amateur journalist, what do you look for in that writing to determine whether it is credible or not?
I picked up from your “New Jersey’s Teen Matt Drudge” article that you do not like Matt Drudge or “The Drudge Report.” What do you not like about it, and why does Sergio remind you so much of him?
I’ve noticed a lot of your writings discuss muckraking. Do you view yourself as a muckraker? Do you view all journalists as muckrakers or only the true journalists who are not persuaded by any outside force? [30]
Jennifer Pace
To look at Jennifer Pace's response, open this PDF. [30]
