Blog/Bloggers - Necessary?

[Menehune]

Aloha kakou!

I started writing this because I HATED blogs/bloggers. IMHO they were self-serving diaries or "it's all about me". They were for "profit" opinions stated as NEWS. [V]

In researching the subject - I found my opinion was way TOO narrow, even WRONG - while there are blogs/bloggers who can be described as stated above. Others are as professional as any reporter working for the New York Times. [^]

BUT the line is VERY blurry - the definition of journalism and journalist is in a state of flux.
Some blogs/bloggers are journalists - but not all journalists are blogs/bloggers.

A journalist normally worked for a media company and had some oversight - editor, etc.
Journalism had/has a code of ETHICS:
http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
Do blog/bloggers even KNOW what these ethics are? [?]
Who oversees their content as to accuracy, lack of bias, etc. [?]
IMHO the questions stated above where the foundation for DPW's media policy. The merits/demerits of that policy have not been discussed on PunaWeb only noted:
http://punaweb.org/Forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8174&whichpage=1

What does this have to do with Hawaii - especially PUNA?

EVERYTHING!

News of Hawaii from standard media sources (newspapers, radio, etc.) is centered around Oahu/ Honolulu.
News of PUNA is nonexistent or so out of date as to be worthless. [xx(]

If not for this forum and YES it's blogs/bloggers - I would be as ill-informed as someone in China - about what is happening around me. [:0]

My bottom line - I HAVE to embrace blogs/bloggers or starve from lack of newtrition! [8]

I only wish that POSTED news links were LINKS to the NEWS itself and not to a blog/bloggers site. []

'O wau no me ka mahalo!

"Each thing I do I rush through so I can do something else" - Cemetery Nights/Stephen Dobyns

[punafish]

I guess where I disagree with you Menehune, is that our current standards even in the traditional media (that would include the New York Times) have dropped dramatically. I could argue that much of the TRADITIONAL media have lost their ethical compass. And the cable news networks are just as bad; they're always looking for the big scoop, too often at the expense of accuracy, fact-checking, etc. Today's reporters of the news (not all of them of course) seem less concerned about achieving objectivity, and more focused on making money and/or grinding a political axe, whether it be left or right. Sounds like lots of bloggers I read.

You could argue that punaweb falls into the same category as blogs: no one oversees content as to accuracy, lack of bias, etc.

I've also been perusing a lot of the blogs on the Big Island lately. Some are good for entertainment, some for news, and others for perspective. But even the "journalists" among them are doing a lot of commentary and editorial-style posts. And it's okay as long as we know what it is.

The lesson? We have to be critical readers--learn to separate the pepper from the fly sh*t--whether we're talking about online information or traditional news media.

Aloha,

Tim

[Guest]

This has to crack me up.

"Do Blog/Bloggers even Know what these Ethics Are?"

Menehune please describe what ethics are involved in blogging? Show me the "Rule" or the "Protocol" that a Blog must stand to pass your "Ethical test".

Who oversees the content? The Blogger.

Sometimes I post to my blog because I make commentary that differs from the newslink.

If I were to only post a link to the news... then you would be getting the corporate story backed by the influence of Big Money.

Who do you believe? Those that have no vested interest in something... or those that get paid to promote something?




Damon Tucker's Weblog

[jdirgo]

I see blogs as commentary on the news (or just commentary in general). And commentary is not a bad thing. At the root is all commentary is a kernal of simple fact. If Aaron or Damon or whoever says something like "at a recent council meeting, a vote on Issue K was called and the vote went this way: X, Y and Z voted for and A, B and C voted against and here's why A, B and C are wrong" -- well, I still got the information on who voted for what and whether I agree that A, B and C are wrong is immaterial. I may think that X, Y and Z are wrong -- but at least I know who voted and what they voted for.

John Dirgo, R, BIC, EcoBroker, ABR, e-PRO
Aloha Coast Realty, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.alohacoastrealty.com

[PaulW]

Bloggers can do and should write whatever they want (within certain legal
limits, eg libel, defamation).

The problem is that a blogger can have a very definite vested interest,
and you should always take that possibility into account. What appears
to be a blogger could be a PR person at a company, or a politician's employee.

Many bloggers also have a vested interest in generating as much site
traffic as possible, so they can sell more advertising. This could be why
whenever you google any bizarre conspiracy theory, most of the links
are to blogs. Sensationalism sells, who cares if it's true? Not some
bloggers.

Usually by the time a blog starts down the heavy advertising route I find
it's not worth reading any more. On the one hand they get more sensational,
on the other hand they try not to offend any current or potential future
advertisers.

[Andrew]

1. Freedom of speech.
2. Freedom to read it or not.

What's the purpose of this thread, I don't get it?

[Youser]

Blogging is another form of Freedom of Speech. You are not obliged to read blogs.

Reading news of any description has always required a certain degree of personal processing. Just because you read a story in the NY Times or Wall Street journal doesn't mean it's 100% unbiased and without error. With the internet today you can read the same news story, the same day from publications all over the world. And you can observe how different countries have different styles. I think it's fascinating. We live in a world with information at our finger tips and I don't see why anyone would complain about this. Now you can even read a book on a small electronic device.

I'm just happy I am still around to enjoy the progress technology has made!

[Kapohocat]

quote:

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Originally posted by PaulW...
The problem is that a blogger can have a very definite vested interest...

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And this is different from our own Hawaii Tribune Herald how?
(Owner's interest, not the writers)

[mgeary]

quote:

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Originally posted by Andrew

...What's the purpose of this thread, I don't get it?

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1. Freedom of speech.
2. Freedom to read it or not.

Aloha! ;-)

[Andrew]

mgeary

Mine was a rhetorical question which is a literary device. I in fact did want to read the thread and was free to do so or not. That was my original point. []

quote:

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Originally posted by mgeary

quote:

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Originally posted by Andrew

...What's the purpose of this thread, I don't get it?

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1. Freedom of speech.
2. Freedom to read it or not.

Aloha! ;-)

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