Written by: Beck

On the same subject as the post below, a friend and former blogger--Blow Hard of We Are Full of Shit fame--for whom there is a standing offer to publish material at INCITE, has a few words to say. It all dovetails rather well with what I've already written, so here you go:

"Bloggers Are the Sizzle, Not the Steak: Convention seats do not turn Internet gossips into journalists."

So reads the headline of some harsh commentary from one Alex S. Jones in the Los Angeles Times.

Our good professor links to this and seems to take issue with it. And, who in this medium can disagree? The media tend towards crap so they have something bigger in their eye, bugger off, etc.

Yet, let's get more specific. Is there anyone in particular who has been given press credentials, I don't know, let's say from MTV, that might be described as a gossip columnist. (See title.)

Someone whose format seems to be dominated by the gay-baiting of conservatives and the heavy-hitting journalism entailed in having readers send in tips about having seen D.C. luminaries at various places?

And, finally, someone hyped and consistently linked to by the good professor himself?

Of course I'm referring to the blogosphere's answer to, I don't know... is there anyone one as worthless in the mainstream media as Wonkette? No one comes immediately to mind.

So, spare me from this particular messenger if not the message.

When I hear complaints about gossip columnists rising above their station, I'd prefer not to hear a retort from someone who helped give the old media such an excellent case in point.

Update: Bloggers all over the place, big surprise, have sunk their teeth into this story like rabid pit bulls. I've already seen 5 different posts on it, and I haven't even really begun my daily blog-surfing rounds. Matt Welch, a professional journalist himself, offers an especially relevant point:

There are two types of reporting that even the most nakedly partisan political bloggers routinely engage in: eyewitness testimony, and press review-style research. Both of which, and particularly the former, will add value to the conventions, which are largely made-for-TV fabrications that can benefit from more you-are-there-behind-the-curtain reportage. Also, it can be very useful to read descriptions by people whose politics are on their sleeve & whose takes on things you trust from intimate personal experience.

Further Update: For some of Blow Hard's fiction, which he quit blogging to devote his time to, have a look at the remains of his old blog. Pay no mind to the name of the site or the fact that he now goes by "Maynard."