Old media, new media
This isn’t local, but I think it’s interesting…a reader sent in a link to an exchange between CNN reporter John King and Salon blogger Glenn Greenwald about King’s tendency to fluff John McCain (that straight-talking maverick) in interviews. I found this exchange fascinating because I don’t usually understand all the anti-reporter hostility on other blogs, given the respect that we at RT have for the reporters whom we’ve spoken with.
Check out this email from King to Greenwald. A little background here: King is the CNN White House reporter and Greenwald is one of the most respected bloggers around.
From: King, John C
To: GGreenwald@salon.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 5:40 PM
Subject: excuse me?
I don’t read biased uninformed drivel so I’m a little late to the game.
But a friend who understands how my business works and knows a little something about my 20 plus years in it sent me the link to your ramblings.
It gets worse from there. I find this interesting in part because I think CNN’s reporting is well below what it should be, given their resources. I feel the same way about the D&C, which is the only local news group that’s been rude to us (this isn’t meant to tar everyone there with the same brush, I’m sure most people there are great).
It seems to me the worse the reporting, the more hostility the organization has towards bloggers.
Related posts:
well, yeah, of course. i think a good parallel is the american auto industry, or even the airlines. the dinosaurs get outdated, lazy, complacent, etc and then these little upstarts come along nipping at their heels. but then the dinosaurs realize that what at first they thought was a craze, fad, or other temporary situation is actually a threat to their dominance. so they fight back. but because of their laziness, complacency, etc., they can’t fight back effectively so they resort to bullying tactics.
Greenwald tends towards repetition and heavy-handedness at times, but I think his recent media critiques have been spot-on, as has his analysis of the positions held by Ron Paul. Also, you can tell he hit a soft spot because King really lashed back.
Greenwald’s response is essentially to point out that reporters seem to have lots of outrage when someone criticizes them, but almost zero outrage for being lied to and manipulated by politicians and source, and zero outrage upon witnessing government lawbreaking. Where is that outrage when you are lied to? Where is that outrage when you are manipulated? Where is that outrage when your govt breaks the laws?
There’s a difference between a reporter and an industry. A reporter can change quickly. If indeed, the reporter realizes that he has been lied to and in the past has done nothing about it (as Greenwald claims), he can change today. If a part of an industry has been producing substandard products and new competitors are gaining market share quickly, it takes a while for that part of the industry to redesign, retool and change  can’t be done overnight.
The problem Greenwald is pointing to is that many reporters don’t accept the criticism, won’t scrutinize their own work, and aren’t interested in change. It’s not laziness, it’s not complacency, it’s their point of view that is reprehensible.
I have found bloggers to be arrogant and extremely sensitive to criticism. I was banished from the Albany Project for pointing out the flaws in some of their heroes.
I can’t speak for The Albany Project and from what I’ve seen of the high quality of your comments here and at F29th, I think they were silly to do that.
But what they did there, to me, is typical of a certain subset of the media and atypical of bloggers like us. I have a ton of respect for people who read and respond to the criticism they get from readers, when it’s fair. And that goes for bloggers and reporters alike.
[...] Exile’s post, yesterday-Old Media, New Media, took on our current slate of quasi-reporters who make up the average MSM. This is just another example of how MSM is “dumbing down” America. I would expect this of FAUX News, but MSNBC-shame on you. The American people deserve more. If you won’t provide the issue debate, then I guess it will have to be up to us. [...]
[...] HT to Rochester Turning [...]
I cannot hold my breath, the breaking story of Robert Barone with all these dark corrupt drama, so also follows to the attempt of the Gates Supervisor trying to shut down cable 12 west. I urge all of you to follow the story and look at the side action of why Gates supervisor wanted to shut down public access.”Those pain in the butt guys will come in here with their cameras and do a story”.