If you are well informed on the Eason Jordan story, good for you. You are a very well read individual. You didn't read about it here, though. I thought Eason's comments at Davos were idiotic, conspiriatorial, and downright kooky when I first read about them. It was also disconcerting to know that an individual who held such whacked out beliefs held so much influence over the reporting of the news at CNN. The forum at which he spoke was closed door and off the record, though. I hold the personal belief that closed door, off the record meetings stay that way, because they offer people the chance to think well outside the box, and that means that sometimes very idiotic things will be said. So I let this story be. When the blogosphere swarmed this story, I thought they were biting off more than they could chew.
Then Eason resigned. I'd write in detail my thoughts after the resignation, but Drew pretty much covers my thoughts on the issue. Sufficeth to say, even I, a member of the blogosphere, underestimated the collective power of this medium. The pack mentality is extremely effective in justifiable cases, like Rathergate. After all, Rather broadcast a fraudulent story and stonewalled efforts to get at the truth. This Eason story was a little bit more on the borderline. I know the intellectual argument that can be made against me on this, and I'm not saying that I disagree with it. Yes, it is important to know that the head of a major news organization holds such crazy, paranoid views about the military. But the pleasure with which some blogs went after Eason, and the fact they could bring him down without the help of the MSM opens the door to the possibility of using this influence unjustly in the future. I think we all need to respect the power we collectively hold with these little blogs.
Then again, maybe this really is a complete revolution of the news media, and I'm just stuck with some old fashioned values.
Update
James D. Miller checks in at Tech Central Station with a few words of caution.
1 comment:
Both stories revolve around the MSM telling lies to slander America. I think Rathergate is much more important because it was a blatant attempt by the MSM to steal an election. Blogs were not as powerful when Rathergate occured, but the MSM support of Viacom has empowered the blogs by proving what had only been suspected for 60 years - the MSM is anti American and will tell lies as "news" to smear her.
Rod Stanton
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