Often it is as far from journalism as it is possible to get, with unsubstantiated rumour, prejudice and gossip masquerading as informed opinion.
Without editors to correct syntax, tidy up the story structure or check facts, it is generally impossible to rely on anything one finds in a blog without verifying it somewhere else – often the much-maligned mainstream media.
The much-praised reputation mechanism that is supposed to ensure that bloggers remain true, honest and factually-correct is, in fact, just the rule of the mob, where those who shout loudest and get the most links are taken more seriously.
It is the online equivalent of saying that The Sun newspaper always tells the truth because four million people read it, and The Guardian is intrinsically less trustworthy as it only sells half a million.”
the article is actually more about google, and whether it’s getting too big and powerful (mwa ha ha)…but i found the comments about blogs interesting.
also, my group made the news:
“Analysts calculate the exact time and angles of the observation by determining exactly where the videos were taken from and by identifying planets or star fields in the background. The team calculates trajectories to predict probabilities of where the debris may have fallen to Earth by estimating properties of possible debris from the video and incorporating known atmospheric and wind data. Radar data is then retrieved and investigated to search for specific signatures. This process serves to drastically reduce the area that must be searched.”
guys down the hall do the observation calculations. i do the trajectory calculation. becca does the radar investigation. and that’s the vastly simplified explanation of what i’ve been doing since february 1. i figure if it’s in the news, it’s ok for me to post here…
(12:59 p.m.)
the scene: becca and me, walking in from the parking lot after gt alumni lunch at fuddrucker’s. time span: about three seconds.
becca: “la la la.”
me: “la la la.”
the sky: “drip………drip. …drip. drip…. drip drip drip…dripdripdripdripdripdripdrip…”
me: (pause)
becca: (pause)
me: “umbrella! now! NOW!!”
the sky: “ROAR! sploosh! rainrainrainrainrainrainrain lotsofrain!!”