Comment is Free, Blogs, Bloggers, Blogging and Charles Clarke
Much debate about bloggers and blogging this weekend, much of it generated by the Guardian's new blog Comment is Free, and this post in particular.
Relax, I'm not going to get too deeply into whether blogging matters, or if it compliments, hinders or annoys the mainstream media.
[Though this from Ajeeb, this from Ethan Zuckerman and this from the Arabist cover the al-Jazeera Forum discussions on the subject]
Every now and then, bloggers do make some things happen. And we do get the odd story in the print media, Private Eye's recent pieces on the al-Jazeera memo FOIA reply, and the lack Galloway's name on the EDMs both appeared via blogs.
More signigicantly, consider Craig Murray's recent disclosure of documents the FCO wanted destroyed. You can argue about the significance or the ethics of the leak. But it was bloggers here, and in the states who got the story out there.
The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill has been talked about far more on Blogs than in the mainstream - but they are catching up...
Take Rachel's Dad for example. Rachel blogged the story of his bruising encounter with foul tempered Charles Clarke last week, and it was picked up across british blogs. Hey presto, Rachel's Dad has had two letters from the man himself, and a invitation to a meeting. And this weekend both the Times, the Observer and the Telegraph print articles saying Charles Clarke has had to apologise for his obnoxious behaviour.
Clarke has written to the father of Rachel North, an advertising executive injured in the King's Cross attack, to express his "regret" over the incident which occurred nine days ago, after the home secretary angrily rejected a demand from the clergyman for a public inquiry into the bombings.
Rachel's father Phillip, a parish priest and chapter canon of the cathedral, said yesterday that he had simply approached Clarke with a question about why the government was refusing to have a public inquiry. Clarke had just addressed the annual Bishop's Day meeting of clergymen when he made the outburst. The home secretary's constituency is in the city.
Clarke, who is known in Whitehall and Westminster for his abrasive manner, replied to North's question: "You're insulting me. Go away. I don't need to be insulted by you."
Add to that, that Charles Clarke's office have now got a standard template letter to send to people who write to him to complain about his foul attitude, after they read about it on blogs...;)
Is the above going to change the world? Of course not.
Does it mean blogs are replacing the mainstream press? Nope, not a chance.
Are blogs parasitic, reliant on the offerings of the mainstream press? Of course, 99% of the time we simply sift and repackage the work of profesional journalists, though IMHO opinion and comment counts, as does not having an editor to answer too.
Scoops are rare, but not unheard of.
Is this worthwhile? I don't know, but journalists and politicians read blogs... and anyway, for me it beats basket weaving.
As for Comment is Free? I'm impressed by anything that will publish stuff from both Justing McKeating [Chicken Yoghurt] and Polly Toynbee on the same site;)
They appear to have got off to a good start, time will tell how it all pans out.
Another thing. The Anti-War
Another thing. The Anti-War demo last Saturday was largely blog driven. I don't recall seeing much in the way of posters or news bulletins publicising the event, and yet there was a good turnout despite what the MSM might be saying.
Mike Riveros site
Mike Riveros site Whatreallyhappened takes 3.8 million hits per month.He is basically a one man op.That should inspire every blogger
one other thing.People are
one other thing.People are hungry and desperate for truth.They are sick and fuckin tired of being lied to by these crooks in suits.
There is an on going migration from main stream media to the net for info.Discretion is called for of course.
But truthful Blogs will attract more and more readers.Glad to see "Today in Iraq" linked here by the way.
Since its start Today in Iraq has recieved more than 2 million visits/hits.It has a regular bunch who contribute.
agree that the anti war
agree that the anti war movement is largely blog driven as is its reporting - most mainstream media failed to report the turnout across USA, including in red states - and the same goes for a lot of war reporting, particularly the horrors and atrocities, now being committed on a daily basis