WebProNews

The good of blogs is that they can, and have, helped keep traditional media in check.  They also provide is with information and news that we would otherwise be completely ignorant of because the main stream media either do not want to report on it, or they miscalculate the demand for it.

The bad thing about blogs right now is that they are almost entirely editorialist in nature.  What I mean by that is that they are rarely just news and almost always written as opinion with the goal of persuasion.  The result of this is that people tend to gravitate towards the blogs that support their pre-existing opinions.  In other words, the blogs begin to preach to their own choir, their readers forming a sort-of "support group" of like-minded individuals.  This, in my opinion, has been one of the primary causes of political divisiveness in the United States.

when it comes to actual news it seems that the bloggers still rely on traditional journalism as their source.  They then analyze that news and create their editorial opinion-based content.  The risk in people relying entirely on blogs for "information" is that they are not often getting actual information, but instead someone else's opinion.  The information that the opinion is formed around is still generated by traditional news outlets.

There are of course exceptions to this.  Some of the Iraqi bloggers, for example, report the "news" of what they observe--things that are never reported by traditional outlets.  But, they will infuse their observations with their opinions within the same context, removing the traditional seperation of news and editorial.

All news, like politics, is local. I purchased a weekly newspaper (emphasis on the word "news") in 1977. At that time it was 150+ years old. It survived the double-digit inflation of the late seventies (barely) and I sold it to a man who developed a conglomerate of small newspapers.

What he managed to do was create a small empire without destroying the integrity of the original products. He managed to keep the identity of each and incorporate a regional flavor as well.

The bloggers and the internet have failed miserably with local markets and they will continue to do so as long as they believe they have the entire world just salivating for their next words.

Yes, people want the world news. They want the national news. They want the state news. But the void is in local news. And there, newspapers have the whole market to themselves.

Additionally, bloggers spout opinions mainly and we all know what opinions are like. AND everybody has one. Who cares about theirs?

I had a client, the Orange County Register, that was a great example of a local newspaper being a dinosaur. They hired my company. Search-Optimization.com, to help them with being able to deliver more traffic to their site. They were doing everything to keep the search engines out. The Orange County Register adopted my suggestions and went on from there to become an example of how a newspaper is in the business of delivering news. They now have blogs, video, comment sections and deliver the news as soon as it breaks. They even have a morning news show on cable TV that uses the reporters to bring local information to the public.

The get it.
 

 I realize it seems impossible to consider this; but it is a real possiblity. In a few years the whole arguement will not matter.  If China carries through on their threats. They will hit the USA with an impulse bomb one or two; and all the computers will be trash. Solid lifeless junk.

I watched this short news story on televison. And this young man somewhere in his early thirties planning on this. He was an entrenpenuer waiting for this to happen. He wanted to cash in on starting up the telephone system and rebuilding the internet. And  keep control of it. Just makes me wonder if I should bother buying a new computer at all.

Yeah, I know it sounds off the wall. There are probably alot of people that would have a fit and say that it won't happen. But I guess in time we will find out.

Hello.

I would like to point out that the article is addressing two things that are quite seperate issues.  Journalism and published books.  And personally? I don't see an end to either.

Journalistic integrity went out the window with the advent of cable news. Computers and blogs had nothing to do with that. The jounalists did that to themselves.  I read three newspapers, not religiously but steadily.  I would much rather read an article by someone that is in print (on paper) who has done their homework than someone who pretends to know something on a subject that is quite frankly outside their realm of true understanding.  About 65% of people plugging out blog entries are anonymous and spew out trash into the stratosphere.  Finding the good information online gets harder and harder because of this issue.

The idea that books would go away is absurd.  Anyone who knows; knows you must have a hard copy backup of everything you write or anything you truly want to keep. 

Yes, I am older; yes, I like the smell and handling of books and newpapers.  If the internet or parts thereof go down, I will have plenty of reading material that I carry to the comfy couch and relax with.

Can you imagine a parent reading from a cell phone or laptop to their toddler?  I just don't see it.  The sense of feel and touch is important to human beans (not a typo) and a keyboard simply does not feel all that satisfying on many days; in many places; and sometimes even in bed.  Ask yourself this question - What would you rather lay your hands on?

Blessings and peace.

Eileen (aka VerbatimEB and aka Verb)

If we are going to depend upon bloggers for our News, we are in big trouble.  Through out this primary season, I have been visiting blogs to see what is happening.  I see a lot of inflammatory comments, outrageous emotions, extreme slanting of facts, and out and out lies. 

It is incredible.  Anyone can say anything.  And, what is worse is that later someone links to their blogs and says "here is the data".  I spent days on one political blog pointing out why that data is untrue and giving them the facts and links to credible government websites with that data.

Print journalism requires that the reporter check their information and source.  Blogging does not!

Take Care,  Sharon

I pay for the content newspapers and magazines provide.  The current method of printing on paper (made from trees) and physically delivering the content is nearing the end of it's long life. What will take it's place is yet to be seen, but the content still has value to me.

I think we're all waiting for something we can carry around to read all of the content/subscriptions we have now.  It must be inexpensive and easily download the information we crave.  It shouldn't break if we drop it a few times or spill a drink on the screen either and if all else fails, then I should be able to get another "reader" at Walmart for $20.00.  (On sale for $14.99 during the holiday season)

I'd gladly give up the traditional methods as long as I can carry it around just like I would any newspaper or magazine.  Newspapers might be changing and/or getting smaller, but it doesn't seem likely they simply die and go away for ever.  (Remember the radio when television was introduced?)

I have enjoyed the ritual of my morning coffee, newspaper, and after breakfast smoke for years. It took me a while to warm up to the idea of electronic books (ebooks). But when I started to enjoy a new product called eBook Browser that actually made reading ebooks and on line articles (like this one) fun... and taught me to truly multi-task... Now I am always doing several things at the same time. Including enjoying my morning coffee without having to shuffle the pages of that newspaper or wonder what to do with it when I am done with it. Now if I can just get over the habit of the smokes. It is hard to change after 35 years of doing it.