Blog review part 2

I'll just get right into it. Before I get into the contents of NewsBusters for this week, I just want to make note that I have noticed a one-sidedness to this blog. It favors the conservative side, which is fine; but it doesn't always give fair treatment to the other side. Many of the points made, I agree with because I have conservative views as well; but as I have learned going to school and through life experience, there are two or more sides to every story. And sure, the liberal side of the media attacks the conservatives; so I guess if you choose to read both, you might get a more broad impression of the issue. I just noticed the bias, which is to be expected from any blog, so I thought I'd bring it to attention.
NewsBusters again has lots of things to talk about. I'll touch on a few. First, their is the talk of global warming. It is big in the news this week. The Virginia Group chairman, Richard Branson donated $3 billion dollars toward the global warming cause. The media have used this year's scorching summer days to bring attention to the issue. Some scientists say that this weather is just part of the natural cycle.
After that, everything is pretty much centered around, or linked to, President Bush and the war. Everyone is pointing the finger at our president. The latest issue is what they are calling "limited torture". NBC's Matt Lauer says that in order to fight the war, we are essentially becoming the enemy. He does have a point here, but it is arguable. (This is where my one-sidedness comes into play.) There is nothing pretty about war. As the old saying goes, "All is fair in love and war". Let me just say, that these terrorists have no problem torturing people. They do it for the purposes of terrorism, not for good; that is unless you think that a terrorist, dictatorship, regime is a good thing. I think we are trying to fight terrorists for the betterment of our country and the world. Americans might have a different opinion if their buses and streets were being bombed like those of England. The war on terror has been going on for thousands of years. This is nothing new. And I fear that it will only get worse no matter what we do. It may take a few more years; but we might as well do our damnedest to insure the security of our nation. I don't think that our soldiers will beheading anyone with a knife during these interrogations. The terrorists would just skip the interrogation and go straight for the throat.
PRESSthink has more news on the open source journalism issue. Jay Rosen, the creator of PRESSthink, has more to say about his other creation, NewAssignment.net. Reuters, a huge online news source, has donated $100,000 to the organization, so they can hire an editor. The idea of open source journalism is anchored in civil society, not the media industry or the journalism profession. People are the root of survival for this type of media. They must collaborate their knowledge and work together to get the dependable information that every reader wants. The Internet is evolving. We cannot foresee what it will become in the next ten to twenty years. Rosen talks about what pro-am journalism is and why it is important at comment is free. This concept has great potential if people join together to make it work. People like us.
In the Online Journalism blog, Paul Bradshaw criticizes the idea of open source journalism, like Jay Rosen's NewAssignment. He is referring to the free aspect of it. He says that is is doomed to fail because anything of this proportion needs funding. Something that is free information, costs money. That is why the people participating in it must work together. This kind of organization needs donations as well. It is a feasible reality if everyone does their part.
He also talks about the power of blogging. A man, Chris Bowers, ended up reaching former President Clinton with his blog, myDDblog. This is something he does out of his apartment in West Philly, but it got him a meeting with Mr. Clinton. Although this is no news equal to that of the war on terror; it still shows us that blogging is getting bigger. It is another example of how the media are converging.
A final example of the progression to web-based media source is that some magazines are moving toward the web. Teen magazines are focusing more on the web and mobile phones. Some are even dropping the print publication completely and moving everything to the web. There is such a high demand for instant gratification and interaction these days. The web provides this. There are also Internet exclusive issues that can only be read online with a membership (subscription or individual payment). Oh time's, they are a changin".
So there it is. Lots of war criticism and media evolution. The web is changing the way we get news and the way we see the world. This is fancypants, blogging out.