A caller to the Dave Congalton talk show (KVEC AM 920) last Monday (8/8) questioned the credibility of blogging and the trustworthiness of news reporting in general."I prefer to go to the source of the news, first-hand, and find out what happened," he said. The caller was from Paso Robles. My reply to that is:
Sure, that would be great if one could do it and be in multiple places at once, sort of like a journalist
Direct experience is essential to news reporting and so is good writing and truthfulness. A real journalist in my definition, is anyone who writes an account of a direct experience, most often an interview or field observation.
Written Testimony
Consistent reporting in this fashion creates the expectation of reliable reporting. Credibility is established. Trust is formed between the reader, the reporter and the media through which the reporting is transmitted.
(Opinions, satire, and communicating a point of view may also be part of the writing. But don't get confused between the facts and the polemics.)
The advent of an original source of information may be unsettling to some. Books, newspapers, magazines, radio, tv--all sources of news as we know it have been around for quite some time. The major news media companies (ABC, CBS, NBC, newspapers, etc.) have become labeled as the "MSM," mainstream media.
Today, public confidence in news media is at an all time low, according to a new Gallup Poll. A broad level of distrust covers the land, and as the poll shows, this low level of public confidence extends to Congress, the US Supreme Court, the criminal justice system, big business and Health Maintenance Organizations.
To be fair to the caller, he did say how much he did not trust the main news channels, so he's part of the majority of Americans who don't trust much of what they see, read or hear from the MSM.
Electronically Written Testimony
As the Internet grows, we make room for another news source: specialized web sites operated by citizens with something to say, either by direct experience or good reporting skills. These are web logs, or blogs, written by bloggers.
This Central Coast News Mission (CCNM) community blog you're reading is founded on the sharing of direct experience by people known for writing the facts of their direct experience and reporting it accurately. Similar to a soldier's letters to home, complete with opinions, humor, pathos and tears. Links are often provided to source material and references online.
By any other name, this process would correctly be called "journalism."
If our caller were to post his daily first-hand, news event experiences on a blog, would he ask others to "trust" what he has written, or continue to recommend that his family, friends and neighbors go out and get the info themselves?
Your Own Good Sense Is Good Enough
When I was growing up, I believed what those closest told me, until I began to think for myself. I began to pick and choose what to believe and how to find "facts" on my own. Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, the single bullet theory, why the US was in Vietnam, why our soldiers are in Iraq--all of these official "explanations" have earned my skepticism.
The sources for the last three have my extremely guarded respect and I don't believe for one second their official explanation. Too many unanswered questions make me a skeptic. For the same reasons I don't think the Tooth Fairy is a real person, I don't believe any official stated reason why the US invaded, and is occupying, Iraq.
It may have something to do with a skill and sensibility more MSM journalists dare exhibit. A willingness to "question authority" and get some real answers.
With so much riding on it, bloggers ask: how can we afford not to?
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