Jim Brady's hard-earned insights
Jim Brady, the executive editor of the Washington Post's website, describes how he was "flogged by blogs," specifically leftist blogs. Brady's piece is full of insights, perhaps the best of which is that there's no such thing as the "blogosphere." As John has pointed out, bloggers use common technology, but beyond that there's little that justifies unifying them under a single label. For example, we don't think that we do the same thing, or provide the same service, as most top-tier lefty blogs. They are basically activism centers for people suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome. We aspire to be commentators, and as such have more in common with the opinion mongers (liberal and conservative) whose work appears in traditional MSM outlets.
Brady has it right in other respects, as well. Blogs and traditional media do have a symbiotic (or parasitic) relationship right now. Blogs presently lack big media's capacity to provide original reporting, and big media presently does not provide the immediacy of blogs.
We think it's likely that there will be a convergence of old and new media, as both "entities" try to figure out how to flourish on the internet. The early returns suggest that the Post, despite its unfortunate experience with the disgraceful left side of the "blogosphere." will be a leader in the convergence because Brady and his colleagues are already figuring out the future.
UPDATE: Ankle Biting Pundits notes that Brady underplays the role of blogs in the Dan Rather/fake memos "controversy."
