Required Reading

I’ve never quoted Tony Blankly on this site, and only barely more often linked to the moonbat Washington Times. But this is too rich to pass up:

I like a good fish dinner, but I’ve never cared much for fishing, as I hate to see a noble creature in its death agony. Yet that is what we are observing. This week it is Dan Rather and CBS News, through their failed effort to prove the legitimacy of their forged Bush National Guard documents, who are being revealed as hapless, helpless victims of an anarchic, swarming, overwhelming Internet blog technology. Soon, other great news institutions inevitably will be revealed for their inadequate capacity to fully report the news.

As required, read the whole column here.

My own two cents, even without discounting for inflation, are pretty damn cheap. But here you go anyway.

Blankly is right — but even blogs are “inadequate” to “fully report the news.” What’s changed is, more people are discovering that the networks are inadequate, will remain inadequate, and can’t help but being inadequate. What’s also changed is, bloggers don’t just comment on the news, but help to shape it. The third thing that’s changed is, Big Media ignores the first two changes at their own peril.

Just like Dan Rather, blogs make mistakes. Just like blogs, Dan Rather makes mistakes. Currently, blogs are profiting from Dan’s blunder – and rival news organizations are profiting from what blogs revealed. CBS could profit, too, except that they aren’t following the Third Thing.

News has always been a dog-eat-dog business. The blogosphere just makes it more so, and with a nonstop feeding schedule. CBS’s problem is, they seem to be determined to act like a Milk-Bone