There is an article by Matt Welch from the Columbia Journal Review that weighs in on our discussion about the purpose and intent of the blog.
I'm not sure I agree with his conclusion which states:
| "Which is not to say that 90 percent of news-related blogs aren't crap. First of all, 90 percent of any new form of expression tends to be mediocre (think of band demos, or the cringe-inducing underground papers of years gone by), and judging a medium by its worst practitioners is not very sporting. Still, almost every criticism about blogs is valid - they often are filled with cheap shots, bad spelling, the worst kind of confirmation bias, and an extremely off-putting sense of self-worth (one that this article will do nothing to alleviate). But the "blogosphere," as many like to pompously call it, is too large and too varied to be defined as a single thing, and the action at the top 10 percent is among the most exciting new trends the profession has seen in a while. Are bloggers journalists? Will they soon replace newspapers?" |
From the perspective of Blogs as journalism, sure. This blog not withstanding, there is plenty of crap out there (here). But I believe journalism to be one purpose and not the sole purpose.
I do agree however that whatever the purpose, the writer should always try to create something valuable, even if that value is strictly personal.
But yes, I do agree that proper spelling is very important. Most of the tyme.
Posted by McKormick at October 21, 2003 11:41 AM | TrackBack