Re: Finding a Problem at Its Source

Today's discussion in class gave me a better understanding of how blogs can survive without the mainstream press.

Most of the information bloggers need can be sifted out of press releases and other forms of communication that an organization might use. It is easier to comment on people making a fool of themselves in print or over the air, but in terms of pure information, this is not essential in a general sense.

An interesting thought: Professor Cohen made a remark that went something like, "The great thing about being under communism is that you know the media is all propaganda." Thinking of the reverse is scary. Getting the true story by PR alone (and interpreting and balancing it, too) might be the way to go. If a source does not trust me, that's the story I will get form them anyway. If they do trust me, and I ever want to talk to them again, I'm going to have to write something close to the PR line because if I lambast them the odds of them assenting to another interview is probably pretty low.

I still maintain that some form of press is needed though, if only to catch politicians making racist comments or athletes making fools of themselves. You can learn a lot about character by what people say when they don't think a mic is near.