Glenn Reynolds has a great article on Tech Central Station today titled “A Media Meltdown?” that excoriates the mainstream media (MSM) for the very bias and journalistic sloppiness that it accuses blogs of perpetuating. I particularly liked this quoted heresy from Power Line:
A bunch of amateurs, no matter how smart and enthusiastic, could never outperform professional neurosurgeons, because they lack the specialized training and experience necessary for that field. But what qualifications, exactly, does it take to be a journalist? What can they do that we can't? Nothing.This immediately brought to mind an exchange from an episode of “Cheers” when psychiatrist Frasier Crane confronts a fortune teller:
Frasier: “You exploit vulnerable people, charging them huge fees for holding their hands and pretending insight into their problems.”Or, in the case of the MSM: “I’ve got this laminated press card and a long notebook.”
Fortune Teller: “How is that different from what you do?”
Frasier: [long pause] “I can prescribe drugs.”
2 comments:
Excellent 'Cheers' reference.
The major difference that the traditional media has is in staying power. They get paid to do what they do and they group up in far larger associations than your average group blog. They suffer less from the August blahs that way.
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