Shaun Kenney | Politics and Religion in Virginia's Public Square


Thursday, February 16, 2006 When the MSM act like blogs... Interesting hullabaloo over Vice President Dick Cheney's decision to be interviewed by FOX News rather than CNN: Fox News executives cast the scoop as the result of persistence and the growing clout of the top-rated cable news network. 'We've been after the vice president since Sunday, as everyone has, and our efforts paid off,' said John Moody, Fox's senior vice president for news editorial. 'I think he wanted to make sure he got a fair interview and a good interview -- good in the sense of thorough -- and Brit is sort of the pre-eminent journalist in Washington right now.' But some Democrats and competing broadcasters charged that Cheney chose to speak only with Fox News because of a perception that the cable channel is sympathetic to the Republican administration. They called for the vice president to hold a news conference with the rest of the media. As opposed to cable channels that are unsympathetic to the Republican administration? Jim Bacon has a lengthy spiel arguing that the MSM's fitration of information is the beginning of the end for traditional methods of news reporting: A recurring theme in this blog is, "Who Will Gather the News?" As the MSM business model fails, resources are cut and the quality of its political reporting continues to flag, where will people get their news? The news, I think, will come increasingly from bloggers and the newsmakers themselves. In touting the contribution of bloggers, I would refer to my own humble efforts. Every column I write for the Bacon's Rebellion e-zine is based upon outside research and interviews. But I am not the only blogger doing reporting. To cite one recent example, I refer you to the reporting by Norm Leahy at One Man's Trash of remarks that former Gov. Jim Gilmore made to the Tuesday Morning Group. (Click here and scroll down to "Jim Gilmore at TMG.") I would also commend the work of Waldo Jaquith, who blogs direct from the General Assembly, and Conaway Haskins at South of the James who does a lot of fact gathering for many of his columns. Of even greater interest, perhaps, is the commentary coming directly from the newsmakers themselves -- bypassing the MSM and going straight to the public. Ken Cuccinelli's "Cuccinelli Compass" is a good example. (See post below.) In the 2005 General Assembly, the Governor's Office and the two political parties were the most reliable source of news and quotes, updating their websites and spitting out e-mails. This year, the number of press releases and e-mail communications seems to be increasing exponentially. Not only are the newsmakers generating their own information, but they are also deciding how that information will be presented. What's more, individuals are getting wiser, filtering out what is good hard information and what is nonsensical fluff. posted by Shaun Kenney \| 2/16/2006 10:03:00 AM \| 0 comments 0 Comments: Post a Comment Home
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