Power to the People

Rick posed a series of questions to us regarding the power of Weblogs and bloggers and their relationship to mainstream media. An example of my opinion can be found in an earlier post, HERE. In the interest of fully answering Rick's question (and, ahem, staying in mode with the title of this blog page), I'll expand on those ideas forthwith.

I dare say the Internet has the power in reporting the news. Bloggers aren't bound by the constraints of time and space, as are broadcasters. In some cases, we aren't bound by editors or people/agencies who pay our salaries either. That way, we're not like the LA Times bloggers who were restricted in their reporting about the Edwards affair - we're able (within the laws of libel) to write about whatever we damn well please and comment on news according to our beliefs. We gladly wear our bias on our collective sleeve, often eschewing the premise of objectivity altogether. People who follow us want salacious and opinionated writing; people have had enough of big media broadcasts, where stories are watered down and edited to the point of blandness. Consumers of news (and here I mean mostly educated and civically-active, on either end of the political spectrum) want first-hand reports that reek of legitimacy and not "old-guard" money and prestige. People want to trust someone who thinks like them - not a mass-produced, canned, and preservative-laden media who tells them what to think.

Bloggers are the spicy alternative to your boring old newscast.

As evidenced in the Rathergate scandal, bloggers enforce accuracy in mass media news. They examine mass media stories, mostly in accordance with their own political beliefs, questioning both legitimacy and objectivity from their own thinly veiled viewpoint. I do the same thing - I read a story from mainstream media and either agree or call "bullshit!" and write my own idea of what happened (either backed by facts or my own analysis). We, as bloggers, hold mass media accountable for what they are telling the American people. Bloggers draw ire because we criticize everything we hear without any claim to legitimacy in mass media (often one will hear "Who the hell is she to comment on this??). Therein lies the beauty in what bloggers do - we're just people with an opinion and an Internet connection (and, if you're reading good blogs, a propensity toward proper grammar and witty repoirte).

Bloggers pander to their own contingency of followers, both devotees and detractors alike, offering their own view of the story. We are the new watchdogs in an era of spin and cover-up. We're not the authority, but an alternative authority.