Bryan of Arguing with Signposts, has a good post on the ongoing journalism v. blogging disucssion that we bloggers like to engage in.
I would toss in the following:
Often the denizens of the Blogosphere think a bit too highly of themselves. Firstly, we mostly provide opinion and analysis, not unique and new reportage. Second, just because there are a lot of something (in this case, a lot of bloggers), doesn't mean that that something has more knowledge, wisdom or smarts; it just means that there is a lot of something. Third, passion (which bloggers have in spades) can be a good thing, but it doesn't mean that the result of passion-based writing is emipirically correct.
Yes, there are bloggers who do substantial research (I try to do so when warranted, although no doubt I could do more), and there are bloggers who are true experts in their fields or who actually report new facts. However, on balance, the Blogosphere is better compared to pundits and commentators in print and on TV than to reporters.
This is not to say that there aren't legitimate criticisms to be leveled at the mainstream press; there are. And it is true that the blogosphere is quite good at pointing out errors, and it can be a true service. However, simply noting errors is one of the easiest forms of criticism, and not exactly Moses coming down from the mountain with The Truth in tow.
Posted by Steven Taylor at January 3, 2024 11:24 AM | TrackBackAgreed. I've wondered why there aren't more blogs like Anomalistic History which really analyze issues in detail.
Of course I know the answer to this: time, experience, writing ability & knowledge are a blogger's enemy. But I'd like to read more blogs like that. Preferably, history & politics.
So if anyone has some good one's in of any subject I'd love to take a look.
Hit the nail on the head.
There are too few blogs that offer serious analysis that, at least occasionally, is backed up by research. Then again, that any exist is somewhat of a miracle.
My own blog, which my friend Travis posts to much more often than I do, is hardly serious and almost never well researched. But then again, that wasn't our goal when we started it several months ago...and I suspect that the vast majority of bloggers wouldn't want their blogs to morph into a lite version of a scholarly journal.