There are some blogs out there (this one included) where the writers are HIGHLY-educated. Instead, the MSM lumps them all together and makes an example of them using the worst examples, and in this case, mistaking the comments as part of the blog. It boils down to a total lack of understanding, something I think is generational. People over 50 (there are exceptions, but for the most part…) just don’t consider anything on the internet to be worthwhile besides email. I had a conversation with my boss today about Facebook and after explaining what it is she decided quickly that she would prefer to have human interaction over any sort of interaction via computers-even though I explained I use Facebook to communicate with friends in other parts of the world.

You see this distrust and lack of understanding among many people over the age of 50, as they were adults with kids by the time computers started arriving. As I said, there are exceptions, as it seems we have several posters here who are 50+...but that seems pretty rare.

I also think many of these writers don’t like bloggers because they don’t have journalism degrees and aren’t (for the most part) paid to write-and therefore the assumption is that they aren’t qualified to write about baseball. Those journalists are, of course, flat-out wrong.

...have a Journalism degree (Mizzou ‘75) AND have worked in “the mainstream media” (radio news/sports) my entire life. A few points:

1) Neither “The MSM” nor “The Blogosphere” is monolithic; I trust my local newspaper (The Sun of Jonesboro, Ark.) to print local/regional stories without any “agenda”... the paper does an excellent job of leaving opinion to the editorial page. I wouldn’t trust the folks at Fox News Channel to take out my garbage, since one must make a left turn to put the trash bin at the edge of the driveway! VEB is one of my “several-times-a-day” sites… but I don’t rely on it for “hard” news about the Cardinals; I read the blog for the analysis and opinions! I read the Post-Dispatch website for “hard” news about the Birds, and the P-D writers’ blogs for the “extras”.

2) “Message board” forums tend to have a high “noise-to-signal” ratio; I’ve given up on the P-D forums rather than waste my time wading through the screaming attacks to find reasoned opinion from anybody… But message-board posters and those who reply to bloggers are NOT bloggers!

3) It’s an old J-School tenet that every writer needs an editor… a “second look” is more likely to catch any errors (grammatical or factual) than a re-reading by the original writer. Bloggers (for the most part) don’t have editors, so fewer mistakes are “caught”. One can get almost anything “published” on the ‘Net, while reporters/writers in MSM have their copy “vetted”. Readers need to be more discerning about whether they can believe what they read, based upon the source of the information.

4) By my lights, Buzz Bissinger is NOT a “Journalist”... because he doesn’t work for a newspaper, radio, or TV news/sports department! He writes books! Okay, they’re supposed to be “non-fiction” books… but the minute he writes about what some person in his book is thinking, he’s stepped outside the bounds of journalism! One can quote what a source says (even if one doesn’t name the source), but unless one is a telepath, onedoesn’t know what somebody else is thinking!

5) It’s my opinion that there are some MSM writers/broadcasters who feel threatened by blogs on their “turf”. A serious discussion of today’s information marketplace would be riveting television or radio. Too bad “Costas Now” wasn’t able to pull it off.

the late Jimmy Durante (Google his name if you don’t know who he was) used to say: ”...everybody wants to get into the act!”, which was his way of saying that it’s not just trained comedians who tell jokes, but every Tom, Dick and Harry can try to be funny…to expand that to other forms of communication, we live in a world today where you don’t have to be a trained singer to sing on TV, we got “American Idol”, you don’t have to go to film school to get your movie seen, we got “YouTube”, you don’t have to be a professional broadcaster to be heard over the air, we got podcasts and internet radio, and you don’t have to be a journalist to write stuff that gets read, we have blogs, where anybody with a thought in their head can put it out there, and if you promote it enough, or get enough other bloggers to link to it, it will get read and probably commented on.

Of course, with all the amateurs out there, it all isn’t going to be good, but it does give people a chance to express themselves, and most of the time without an editor or some other gatekeeper to give thumbs up or down…as a consumer, I have the choice to accept or reject what is presented…the internet is the canvas that allows a potential artist the room for expression…and I would much rather cut through a lot of stuff that may not be Pulitizer material, than not have the freedom to say and hear what is on our minds…I may not agree with it, but that’s not the issue.

... there’s a fine distinction which needs to be made. there’s a difference between reporters and columnists in the MSM. reporters in MSM are valuable because they have access to players, coaches, training staffs, etc. they can break news because of that access, and they are very valuable to fans for that reason. the Cards beat reporters (including Leach) are generally excellent at getting information from fans, and for asking questions of the team that some members of the Cards’ organization would rather not answer. they generally do a very good job.

columnists don’t (generally) do reporting. they spout opinions. some of the best of them (including some of the P-D guys) actually do some research to give their readers a fuller perspective of events. but journalists in the MSM have to write at what used to be called a third-grade level. they can’t get in to discussions of advanced statistical techniques because their readers won’t be able to follow it. some, like Miklasz, have an ancillary blog to go more in depth on issues that they cover in their columns. others, like Plaschke, just pretend that these techniques are worthless and spend columns ridiculing those who use them.

the best bloggers don’t have to worry about writing at a third-grade level. in some sense, they can self-select their audience, and they can write at whatever level they want (or are capable of). some bloggers are horrible, but others provide some of the best analysis in the world. if you want a blow-by-blow of what happened in a game, then the MSM is still the best. but if you want analysis as to why or how certain things happened, or to offer counter-factuals of what could have happened if players or managers made different choices, then some of the more analytic blogs are better.

in addition, blogs can carve out their own niche, so they can go more in depth. Future Redbirds does a much better job of covering the Cards’ minor league system than the P-D, not necessarily because they are better writers or analysts, but just because they have the freedom to choose their own focus; the P-D writers don’t have that freedom.

are there stupid blogs? assuredly. but there are also stupid journalists, which is why firejoemorgan.com is so valuable. both media have value, and both have dross.

...at least cows can post to this blog…
;=8)

If you go to firejoemorgan.com they do a good write up about the HBO special last night, specifically the Bissinger arguement

but im not sure if this is the right area to talk about it

first off, the costas now show from last night was one of the (i wish i was a better writer to explain how i feel) interesting and thought provoking shows i have ever seen, not just including sports

what i would love to see is a forum for the VEB readers to discuss each segment of that show, mainly bc i respect the opinions of so many of the posters here and would love to see the debate it would cause in each of the areas discussed, led by lboros and our 3 great editors

so hopefully they and everyone have seen it, and maybe we can discuss some of it here if its in the best intrests of the VEB community

go cards

go here

A bitter, cynical and angry man. I couldn’t grasp what he was so angry about. The fact the Leitch doesn’t edit every post on his site with bad language? Or is it that people who aren’t ‘journalists’ shouldn’t have respected opinions? He seemed to be saying to Leitch, ’ let the people with talent write about sports’. This attitude is prevalent in the media nowadays and makes me think one day we will see the re-enactment of the ‘Fairness Doctrine’.
My two cents about the show, Bissinger and Costas both seemed like they didn’t understand the dynamic of blogs. Most people don’t pay any attention to posts with language like they were repeating. We read to see what our fellow fans think. Those of you who are talented with computers link to cool stories,sites and post graphs with relevant and detailed info.
I no longer watch ESPN news more than about 5 min a day now, and don’t watch Sportscenter at all. Why should I? LBoros and the gang along with MLB Trade Rumors and Cards site have all you need to know. And, they don’t say-’Are you kiddin me?’ 10 times a day.

but I use blogs for the specific reason of taking food directly out of Buzz’s mouth and to make the rest of society dumber.