Bending the Third Rail
Because We Should, We Can, We Do
Friday, May 05, 2006
Why Joe Klein Is So Pissy
I think this covers it.

Also sums up a lot of the hostility of the mainstream media lately, that is, in addition to falling newspaper sales:
Before, Joe Klein and his colleagues enjoyed an exclusive perch, one that was maintained for them by the folks who controlled the systems that, previously, were the only ways commentary and news were disseminated. One could argue that columnists earn their perches — through hard work, experience and, occasionally, talent. But once they attain their position, their status is more or less protected — both by the fact that news orgs rarely fire columnists and by the kind of de facto gentleman’s agreement that has long kept columnists from attacking each other too aggressively.

The blogosphere has shattered that comfy arrangement — permanently. All of a sudden, there’s no longer a system in place that allows columnists to grow lazy, sloppy, or biased without facing consequences. Suddenly it’s possible to pinpoint a commentator’s weak reasoning or inaccuracies and broadcast them far and wide. Suddenly underperforming columnists, and their editors, are no longer insulated from competition — from bloggers who, as hard as this may be for established commentators to accept, actually do work that’s as good or better than they do.
I certainly don't purport to be as good as newspaper pundits. But most of the blogs I read are.
Written at 9:59 AM by Greyhair.
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