'The News' Is No Longer Defined By Big Media
Some journalists are trying to make sense of what is happening here, as blogging Davids take the story along ahead of media Goliaths. The best book on the subject is An Army of Davids, subtitled "How Markets and Technology Empower Ordinary People to Beat Big Media, Big Government, and Other Goliaths", by Glenn Reynolds. This is the 21st century, the days of media conglomerates making the news in a top-down Fordist fashion are over. Boutique news sources will proliferate.The "news" is no longer what Paxman says it is, the news is whatever is disseminated to a wide audience, Big Media is going to be disintermediated when it falls down because technology has drastically reduced the cost of dissemination. Failing to hold our political class to account is the failing of Big Media in Britain.
If Prescott was a soap-star on a second-rate TV show he would have had more scrutiny of his sleazy affairs than he has had to date.
Does the media have it's priorities right?
49 comments:
couldn't agree more Guido.
This can be evidenced even further by England's defeat to Portugal being the top news item ahead of soldiers dying in Iraq.
Also, why did the mainstream media give the Lib Dems such an easy time over their dirty campaigning in Bromley, and at almost every other election?
The problem is that the press pack are just a little too pally with the politicians for anybody's liking.
Yes and no Guido - the news is out there, but the MSM are still trying to manage it into insignificance; taking the "wrong" angles, not asking critical questions, missing the obvious implications. They're clever enough to make their half-hearted reports appear comprehensive, when we know they are not - but millions will see the reporting as fair.
We are not trying to manage it into insignificance. We are trying to report the facts fairly - however we (or at least I) **do** acknowledge that the blogs are a factor in events. I will be blogging on this until the Prezza issue dies down.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulmason/
"Too pally" is right, politicians and hacks see themselves as playing the same game. But are we sure that bloggers aren't trying to get into the game from the sidelines; jumping up and down on the bench to get the manager's attention ? As British bloggers become more visible they will become targets for co-opting. Why do I suspect that for some this is a consummation devoutly to be wished ? Witness, in America, the DailyKos's paid consultancies and the raising of soft-money by its community. An army of Davids, all slinging stones against Goliath, perhaps, but they can't all become King.
Also, why did the mainstream media give the Lib Dems such an easy time over their dirty campaigning in Bromley, and at almost every other election?
Oh it's because the media is so overwhelmingly pro-Lib Dem of course! Seriously though, they give credence to Maude and Neill's moaning over their own total inability to run a decent campaign - more than they deserved.
FYI Guido has turned down more than one job offer.
Too pally" is right, politicians and hacks see themselves as playing the same game
Why shouldn't they ? They were at University together - they worked on Cherwell or Isis, they stood on the same 'slate' at the Onion or in OUCA........Michael Crick was a contemporary of Lance Price, and Alan Duncan, Damian Green, James Clappison, Jeremy Mayhew, Roger Mosey,
Paul Mason,
Your blog link is broken. Billions of pounds and Big Media still can't build a blog.
;)
Prescott admitted this morning , on Today, that he hadnt a clue what blogs were.
the term "achilles heel" sprang to mind.
guido - his blog is up now.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/paulmason/
"prezza, the bloggers and paxman"
my my - this is turning into a bit of Matt Drudge event. As they say, where America leads, Britain usually follows, several years later. (unfortunately, we seem to be also following them in gun crime, but thats for another thread)
Guido, I salute you for turning down bad job offers. But when British blogging moves into the centre of Westminster village life, then the job offers will get really good. Will the blogstars (and my comments were not aimed at any one person) remain in the Army of Davids when Goliath is giving them the chance to write their own ticket ?
The MSM journos, especially the Lobby, would be black-balled and simply not get any stories of they told the truth or broke news inconvenient to their sources. Their first priority is to protect their bread and butter, way ahead of actually disseminating news. The only way bloggers can maintain their (real) leadership in breaking inconvenient news is to decline all inducements (which will ccome) to become insiders. Some won't be able to resist the money. So far, so good, Guido. (applause)
I thought the blogs were wonderful after following the US election, American politics being my subject at uni. The way Dan Rather was exposed over the fake documents was a wonder. Literally within minutes experts from the 60s showed the documents could not have been done on an Olivetti, others duplicated them on a computer and everyone could give an instant and often expert opinion. Same with the Swift Boat Vets. they knew what happened all these years ago and would not stand by and do nothing if there was a risk of Kerry becoming President, note that Kerry never sued nor did he release, as promised, ALL his records. Neither of these stories would have reached the public without blogs. At the time I was a real fan of Andrew Sullivan's blog and wrote to Matthew Parris suggesting he do one before our election, sadly he said he did not have the time. I wondered how long it would take to get here. It is great that they finally have and should make sure we get all the news, not just what the MSM and politicians think we should know. The other thing I like is that if a mistake is made it is soon pointed out and corrected.
To be precise, Prezza said he'ed only just got into writing letters!
The term ignorant thick sexist git sprang to mind
It depends if we define news as "things which are important" or "trivial gossip about the sex lives of pensioners" I spose.
Who says bloggers lead the way? Your opinions are largely correct but factually lacking - sadly even the papers have to have a few facts. For example your nudge nudge wink wink about the China diplomat was plain wrong, as you admitted the next day. Could you, for example, prove in a libel court that a well known female MP{ and Prezza had an affair? I mean prove it, not just say "well i heard from good sources?"......
I see Prezza's defenders suggest if Guido's comments re 3 shags were printed in a newspaper there would be a flurry of writes ... but because it's T'Internet the rules are different.
Are they stupid or lying?
No, I'm the stupid one. I meant writs, not writes.
Anonymous - isn't it rather more telling that as of yet Guido has not had to prove it in a libel court? Seeing as he actually invited Three shags to issue a writ, and none has been forthcoming? Or that Prezza EIGHT TIMES avoided the question as to whether he had had more than one affair on Today. I'd say that in the light of all available evidence Mr Fawkes has got it absolutely right.
Anonymong @ 1.22,
It was never suggested nor meant to be suggested that the China Girl had done anything wrong or improper. Newspapers are mis-reporting what was written at their own risk. Also any comments made by third parties on this blog suggesting otherwise, you should note, have been deleted immediately.
Rosie's writ is nowhere to be seen.
It's an interesting read and on the whole fairly credible in its analysis and forecasts.
Mostly what we have is an info-war developing and those who can be 'fustest with the mostest' will be generally regarded as winners. There are dangers associated with that of course, and gunslingers traditionally have a limited life expectancy.
More important in the long run will be the blogs that beaver away doing the grunt work, the ones that provide the ammunition, that dig out just what it is that that lot are up to (in terms of legislation) and would prefer us not to know about until it's too late to stop.
Prescott et al are just the scum on the surface, and yes, it's great fun, though the probability is that when he goes he'll be replaced by someone who does more or less the same sort of stuff but is a bit more discreet about it. Plus ca change.
So while I enjoy logging on to Guido, Iain, DK, Mr E and all the rest of the gang, the sites that get me really worried are those like Spyblog who cover what the politicos are actively trying to get on the statute books. Politicians get ousted (or outed); the policies remain - and IMO it's those that can screw everybody in the end.
It's worth rembering that Glen has one thing we in the UK don't - a guaranteed right to freedom of speech. Now the Gov. has been taking a battering, with blogs in the lead. They'll hate that and their *first* inclination (knowing this lot) will be to look for a way to stop it. Note that Prezzie's pal's have been muttering about stopping/closing blogs in the last 24 hours. I don't think that could be easily done, but with the abysmal ignorance of all things IT in Westminster they won't see that as a drawback. They lose a battle? Fine - change the rules of engagement. And guess what - the MSM will probably be behind them all the way.
I'd guess interesting times are coming.
I agree with the general theory that this is the way the world is moving but there are a couple of obstacles to overcome before you can reach your utopian vision.
One is a question of trust. The MSM is not unbiased but their prejudices are generally clear to see and their ‘facts’ can be trusted up to a point. I’m relatively new to the blogoshpere but recent polls show I’m not alone in being highly suspicious of it and the veracity of the statements reported as facts. Over time I can get an idea for the integrity and politics of a given blogger and therefore judge whether or not to believe a particular line but this requires an investment from the reader. If I’m new to the blog then I have no reason to trust them and consequently I’m not going to believe any wild claims. I don’t doubt the intellect of the bloggers and the quality of their writing but it is rather like getting your ‘news’ from a bloke down the pub or the Guardian.
For a blog to become influential it needs to build a large readership over time, especially amongst people of influence. It needs to have a consistent standard of writing that is more than just one mans amusing rants against the world. It needs insight and access to facts that that bloke down the pub doesn’t have. Only a few blogs or online news sources will ever attain this status and ironically as they reach this point they will take on many of the failings currently perceived in the MSM. They will become part of the establishment being attacked and undermined by newer bloggers. Plus de change.
RK as you say you are a newbie, you maycare to note that many stories you read in your newspaper originate on the web , that is the level of investigative journalism and creativity offered by the MSM.
Most journalists couldnt find their arse with both hands.
RK,
You make some good points - particularly this " It needs to have a consistent standard of writing that is more than just one mans amusing rants against the world. It needs insight and access to facts that that bloke down the pub doesn’t have. ".
However, I always find political bloggers pretty much wear their convictions on their virtual sleeves. I believe political bias at a supposedly un-biased organisation like the BBC is far more invidiuous
"I see Prezza's defenders suggest if Guido's comments re 3 shags were printed in a newspaper there would be a flurry of writes ... but because it's T'Internet the rules are different."
Clearly they have overlooked the case of UKIP member Michael Smith who successfully sued someone for accusations of Nazism she made on an online forum.
Well done - great work exposing (if that's the best word) Presocott. Meanwhile the tumbleweed is rolling through Conservativehome as 'the editor' maintains a lofty silence...the only option as he's been left standing teehee.
Have you sent a complimentary copy to Nick Robinson? If the cost is too high I'd be prepared to split the bill with you.
Guido,
why so at odds with big media dogs holed up in annies bar and tied into the lobby system? You've presented a new source by which the lobbyists can break a story without compromising their code. However, your work must apply to both sides of the house, or you'll be open to justified cries of tory cronyism.
Open to unjustified cries...do
Warnings of the great risks to noble bloggers are probably founded in truth. We can't deny that blogging has allowed the whole inevitable system to become much more dynamic and therefore, as the rot can stick around for less time, much better.
RK - Private Eye prints stories journalists cannot get past their sub-editor.
I mean how could the Mail write anything critical of Stephen Lawrence when Paul Dacre had Lawrence Sr as his decorator ?
How could The Guardian write anything critical of Tessa Jowell when Rusbridger is a friend of her on/off husband; and his wife is a university friend of his wife ?
I mean how much does Fleet Street keep quiet about ? We rarely hear about lesbians and Freemasons in politics but there are quite a few............did we hear much about Reggie Maudling, Operation Countryman and John Poulson plus Freemasonry in the 1970s - no we did not.
That's where Blogging is opening up some of the backchannels. Mandelson was not employed to put stories in the pres but to keep them out.
He kept out Ron Davies walk on the wild side, and lots of other strange goings on until after the election.........
Nadders said:
"To be precise, Prezza said he'ed only just got into writing letters!"
Next month he's moving on to words and maybe, if he's a good boy and studies hard, by the end of the year he'll be able to write whole sentences. Simple ones to start with of course; but who knows, in a few years he may even be able to write a short essay on what (or who) he did during the holidays.
RM
"your work must apply to both sides of the house, or you'll be open to justified cries of tory cronyism"
why must it? You don't see (for example) the Spectator going out of their way to be nice to Labour, why should the rules be different for digital media?
The day Guido becomes a public service broadcaster is the day I stop reading.
My question is this: do you have any Scottish cousins, Guido? There is a full blown sex scandal involving one of Scotland's most colourful MSPs (literally and metaphorically) being played out in the libel courts uphere, but not a whole lot of scandal-mongering to go with it. Myself included, very few seem all that excited about it.
Or is Holyrood simply too dull to blow up?
Keep up the good work Guido. Yes, the established media are feeling a tad queasy. If sad little single issue spods like me can have a poke at the big game then so can anyone. There's an image of Prezzer in peril here: www.englandism.com/images/millenium-dome.jpg
All these, largely anonymous, claims that the MSM are somehow superior because they check their facts better than the Bloggers do is not of course borne out by the eveidence.I have two words for you on that one; Daily Mirror.
'I see Prezza's defenders suggest if Guido's comments re 3 shags were printed in a newspaper there would be a flurry of writs.'
So why didn't he sue the Sunday Times over Tricia McDaid's serious allegation, published on 30 April?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2158097,00.html
I quote:-
[McDaid] "alleged that John Prescott sexually harassed her over a two-year period".
..."McDaid also said that Prescott boasted he had a dossier of people in the Labour party who had slept with one another."
Now that IS a shocking allegation: that the DPM admitted he had gathered material with which - at least, that appears to be the strong implication of the statement - he could if necessary blackmail party colleagues. And he hasn't sued the Times about that either...
When Crick, the BBC, Independent, Guardian, Mirror et al apply their work evenly to both sides of the House then perhaps the Bloggers might start to worry about that. The MSM is predominently leftie and institutionally anti Tory and in many cases, especially the BBC and Mirror, that extends to greater depths of abasement that mere acusations of cronyism.
The truth is that left wingers like anonymous 2.27pm are only whining because Guido won't succumb to the usual media bias in their favour. Hypocrites!
When British blogging moves into the centre of Westminster village life, then the job offers will get really good. Will the blogstars remain in the Army of Davids when Goliath is giving them the chance to write their own ticket?
A very good question, Sero, and as Prodicus says, some won't be able to resist the inducement, as Guido evidently has. But there is a contradition here. If as Sero predicts, the blogging medium moves "to the centre of Westminster village life," then why is there an assumption that the MSM, rather than the bloggers, would be in control of that, especially given that MSM attempts to jump on the blogging bandwagon have met with such mixed success? RK speculates that the political blogosphere is going to end up becoming part of the establishment. Maybe he will be right. But isn't it just as likely that the political blogosphere will end up not being assimilated by the establishment, but replacing it?
Re: the China Girl- so glad to hear someone told Prezza "Baby, just you shut your mouth."
i thought id add my two cents. i normally lurk here... i run a blog, one of the earliest uk blogs around founded in feb 2000. we pull in about 160,000 - 170,000 visitors a month now which gives us a higher readership than the newstand mags in the field we're writing on. we very regularly scoop them on things and thats the secret of the success because though the media and their chums might not like us the people at various companies do read us and are only too willing to talk. i find though that MSM isnt really interested in what we publish. it took them two years to get around to writing on a story of something with a budget of 700 million, it was a huge story that made every broadsheet but only two years later! one journo even went as far as to say the site was worthless because it had little on it you couldnt find on other things, when i emailed him and pointed out that the other things were long before MSM had picked them up i never got a reply. every time we approach them and think "well why not freelance and get some money" MSM doesnt care about the news, they care about their pals in PR who they go for drinks with, their mutual masturbatory relationships and constant leak investigations into what we write. they are all eating out of the same trough of news management. when they do cover things after us they frequently get the facts wrong, the evening standard is the worst of all the rags. MSM is in a constant state of denial that the internet is changing things, its created the citizen journalist/publisher, which of course means big media will lose out because the rules of the game have changed and they dont know it. blogging isnt about a blog format that publishes what you already have, the bbc for example make this mistake. good blogging is about delivering good exclusive and fresh journalism (or gossip in the case of guido) via a new medium.
Having lived and served at sea from Hull, I am surprised that no mention seems to have been made about the rumours that circulate in the Hessle Road area of Hull amongst older seamen who had served at sea with Prezza. Namely that Prezza didn,t spend too much time at sea because his Union business interfered it and when he was at sea the Tips always seemed to be lower than when he was ashore.
@Paul Linford
If the politcal blogging world as we know it became part of the mainstream Westminster establishment then I reckon a new one would emerge on the fringes to upset it.
You're right though, the msm just might get shunted out by the new kids on the block!
I'd like Guido to comment on the Local Government ombudsman, Parliamentary ombudsman, Financial ombudsman service, Information commissioner etc. We now seem to have a proliferation of quasi-legal authorities who take an inordinate number of months to start an investigation in to a complainant's case, heavily skew their verdicts against the general public, have backgrounds as ex-senior managers from the industries they're supposed to be scrutinising, are set up by acts of parliament which give them a free rein to decide when and when not they will look at a case, and have a job for life.
Or is Holyrood simply too dull to blow up?
So Tommy Sheridan (ex-Lab) goes to swingers clubs and engages in social intercourse with former escort girls.............tad banal..........couldn't he develop a taste in boys for variety ?
I mean we've had igniting curtains in hotels from MSPs............do they do anything bizarre ?
Does the media have it's priorities right?
It's?
It may not have its priorities right, but it does have spell-checkers... 41 bloggers make 41 comments, and not one can see the ironing.
"That's where Blogging is opening up some of the backchannels."
I thought that was Oaten's job?
I'd always assumed that all job-offers, bribes etc. were accepted, creating a kind of anti-integrity.
Carol42 is high if she thinks the Swift Boat stuff had traction, and wasn't the typical old-as-the-dirt politics in the form of shooting dirty pool.
Blogs are already a place for disinformation from campaigns, from Thune's run for senate in South Dakota to the guys in Texas who hooked up the gay hooker Jeff Gannon as a White House press reporter before other bloggers tracked down his story.
The trouble with blogs and the distributed journalism they enable is that sometimes, blogworld is more fact-free than even the harried, pressured, lazy, budget-pressured MSM.
And sometimes it is truly breathtaking how in-depth coverage and analysis can be, break-downs well beyond the level of anything in the papers, and many more storys are broken on blogs than the papers ever admit.
BTW, Glenn's book might be good, but he has become a right ass, and a rigid partisan rather than the "anti-idiotarian" he began as.
I'd rather chew my own balls off than give money to Instayokel.
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