Bloggers vs MSM and Accountability

The primary argument by critics and many in the MSM that blogs are dangerous because of their "limited fact checking" and "lack of accountabilty" is, at best, specious.

Literally hundreds of thousands of bloggers (Dirty Harry's sea crabs) each and every day log on to the net reading the days news, evaluating and scrutinizing it through the varying prisms of diverse interpretation. These are, for the most part educated people, professionals who, if not for a different career calling could very well be working for CBS, CNN or the NYT. Rather than just a few "fact checkers" we have literally thousands who minutely fillet each news item layer by layer uncovering every conceivable detail and angle.

Every assertion by one blogger is systematically challenged by the next one up the food chain untill it is so thoroughly "vetted" that the liklihood of of inaccuracy is virtually nil. With the MSM, entrenched prevailing political ideologies as well as sensationalism drive momentum, whereas the blogospere is inherently adversarial. Two opposing behemeths banging heads to dissect each and every story, circumventing no one and exposing everything.

Critics of the blogosphere have the erroneous belief that "all blogs are comparably equivilent". This shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how the alternative media functions. They fail to realize that a blog hierarchy exists, such that the weight given to say, Opinipundit is vastly less than a Polipundit or Michelle Malkin. At low levels stories are usually nothing more than speculative scuttlebutt, however, by the time they reach the top of the food chain, they are every bit as bonafide and legitimate as anything offered up by the MSM.

There are stories everyday that in all liklihood would never be covered by the MSM if it wasn't for the driving force of the blosphere. Does anyone seriously believe that the Eason Jordan story would have ever seen the light of day absent the bloggers. Very little escapes under the radar due to the sheer number of participants and the intensity of their comittment.

The self serving commentary from the MSM and it's allies is motivated by both fear and a basic misunderstanding fostered by arrogance. We are not only their conscience but their competition and as their competition it's most definately in their best interest to delegitimize our endeavors.
For most, blogging is not a career or livlihood, however it is for MSM and as with anyone protecting their job, they will do everything in their power to protect it.