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The blogosphere isn't a mere replacement for MSM -- it's something new.
An Important Distinction
Technorati is tracking 14 milliion weblogs. Let's make a distinction that for some reason few people are making yet. There are two distinct segments of the 'sphere. The largest is that of the personal weblogs, which are diary-oriented, and written mostly for family and friends. They typically have a few dozen readers. Then there is the segment of wide-appeal blogs, written on subjects of general public interest. These can have a wider readership, in some cases in the hundreds of thousands. The number of these is smaller, perhaps in the tens of thousands. The Truth Laid Bear ecosystem is currently tracking about 16,000 blogs with links from at least 5 other sites. In this post, I'm speaking of the wide-appeal blogs.
The Strengths of MSM
MSM excels at gathering information. They can often get it even when many of the people involved don't want to reveal it. This is a totally different skill set from analyzing that information. There is no reason to expect anyone to be good at both. MSM is so unskilled at information analysis, that it even applies the same pre-packaged analysis, to almost every story. According to MSM, almost every story means that GWB is bad, the Iraq war is bad, America is bad, capitalism is bad, and whoever the Democrats are running should be elected. Stories that can't be made to fit this analysis -- for example, the current Air America scandal, the Swift Boat vets of the 2004 Presidential campaign, or the U.N. report that Hussein had busted up giant factories capable of building WMD's and shipped them out of Iraq before and during the war -- are either ignored altogether, or printed once on a back page, and never discussed again.
The Strengths of the Blogosphere
Analysis, however -- figuring out what things mean -- what they were caused by, what they will cause, and how to apply that understanding to make new decisions -- is precisely what the blogosphere excels at. Go to any of the biggest blogs, and you will note that the majority of posts cite facts from MSM and elsewhere, and provide new analysis.
The Network Effect
This strength of the 'sphere is massively multiplied by the Network Effect. Let me give you an example. I was recently seeking advice for a business project. At an industry conference, at lunch, I sat next to someone who told me his view on how to accomplish a specific goal. But I had to ask myself, was he correct? Did he have an agenda? Later, speaking to an ad agency, I got the identical advice. Because the same advice had come from two very different people, with two very different ways of looking at the subject, it immediately became all but a certainty that this advice was correct.
The Internet multiplies this effect over hundreds of subjects and thousands of different bloggers and blog commenters. It's very powerful. It's a giant engine for finding meaning.
Postscript
The blogosphere stands on the shoulders of MSM. Without the fact-finding provided by MSM, the 'sphere in its current form would not exist.
Needless to say, the 'sphere can generate original news reporting. Not only has it done so in many cases already, there are efforts underway to promote still more of this.
Update: Instalanche. Thanks, Glenn, and welcome, Instapundit readers!
#1
#2Vik:
The blogosphere stands on the shoulders of MSM. Without the fact-finding provided by MSM, the 'sphere in its current form would not exist.
True, but I think it is only a matter of time before the blogosphere eclipses the MSM in its ability to gather original news. As the commenter above illustrates, this idea is already present in seminal form. Blogs will eventually become the main source of information gathering and analysis.
A great post, BTW...very thought-provoking, especially to someone like me who is relatively new to the blogosphere.
Pomoze Bog.
Tsar Lazar
#3Great point, David. As I mentioned, any news that doesn't fit MSM's pre-packaged, one-size-fits-all analysis, often gets ignored altogether. The blogosphere could get even better organized at gathering and presenting this information. The milblogs make a great contribution, and there's room to do still more. By the way, if you like, please forward info from your family member in Iraq, and I will look at it for posting here.
General McCaffrey remarked that service personnel are reluctant to confide in MSM reporters because of the uniformly unfavorable coverage that results.
Amazing. MSM does a huge disservice to this country by non-reporting and mis-reporting the news in this way.
#4Thanks very much, TL.
Blogs will eventually become the main source of information gathering and analysis.
It could be, but MSM has huge organizations in place for news-gathering. I don't see any reason why they should go away. They would have to be replaced by equally huge organizations.
However, I think it's possible that by the efforts of the blogosphere, MSM's bias could possibly be reduced over the next 5-10 years.
#5This is the finest short analysis of what blogging is all about that I have read. I linked to it on my blog.
It's interesting that Glenn linked to our posts together on his site. Like you, I've experienced an Instalanche.
#6Mark, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I really enjoyed your post that Glenn linked to, as well.
#7I discussed this idea in my book, Death of a Blogger, with the metaphor of the news media being the eyes of the beast, and the Blogosphere being the brain. But also, with the blogosphere being such a voracious information eater that it would require more information than the MSM could provide it.
Which in this metaphor is the other four senses.
And as to the person who said that the MSM had huge organizations that would have to be used or replaced, I would have to respectfully disagree. It makes sense until you consider that this is an age of small companies, flattening hierarchies, and that three guys with a LAN and a few other toys (relatively cheap ones at that) can do what used to require many more people and an order or two of magnitude more money.
Something like the Blogosphere is going to, and is happening for the economy. Not only will this provide meaning, but also supplies and manufacturing. Remember teh Internet got used for researchers at DARPA as one of its first effects. The Blogospheric tendencies of free-wheeling, wild speed, fact-checking, commenting, and all this is going to infect the regular economy, and greatly enhance speed, and innovation, and precision of service.
> MSM excels at gathering information. They can often get it even when many of the people involved don't want to reveal it.
Is this really true? We citizens and taxpayers are getting nothing out of Iraq from the MSM, except Army press releases. My real information comes via email from a family member serving in Iraq and from the blogs. General McCaffrey remarked that service personnel are reluctant to confide in MSM reporters because of the uniformly unfavorable coverage that results.
David Starr