from the WashingtonDispatch.com Dan Rather’s Blunder: The Day Old Media Died?, an opinion piece by CK Rairden. Rairden is the National Editor for the Washington Dispatch (TWD). I’m not trying to single out TWD as a bad example. They are one more site featuring ‘commentary’ and, thankfully, they do label their site as “exist(ing) to provide a range of viewpoints”. They do not label TWD as a ‘news’ site.

what do you think about their story (Dan Rather and 60 Minutes II) – or, about this topic “internet as news source – and, how media (particularly information exchange) is changing” – ease of publishing online, for example? see looksmart – Won’t Touch That Dial – use of Internet as news source increases, or … zonalatina.com – Internet as News Source … and kuro5hin – Internet as News Source.

one area of this ‘new media’ which concerns me is the way it is ‘accepted’ by younger demographic groups as legitimate information sources. i am thinking more of ‘individual sites without editors and established standards for their content and coverage’. now, I don’t know that they are not doing follow up research to verify what they read as truth or opinion … but, do you really think that is happening? i hope that today’s proliferation of ‘opinion’ as fact is seen as just that. see the looksmart search for internet / usage and Current events / Demographic aspects and Broadcast journalism / Analysis

information is a commodity – to some, at least – and there is a ‘commerce’ built up around exchanging information (and/or opinion). You’ll note that I’m not using the term ‘news’. Why? Because there is always a question in my mind about the veracity or reliability of anything written in a blog … or, a site like The ‘WashingtonDispatch.com’ (TWD), or any other ‘blog’. Now, TWD would probably not appreciate being termed a ‘blog’. But, it is, in my opinion. TWD could be viewed as another site of ‘infopinions’ – information being published as fact. There isn’t anything wrong with publishing your opinions. At least TWD notes that it is trying to move toward a ‘unbiased’ approach to reporting.

 
Future endeavors of the publication include a weekly print publication and a move to unbiased reporting of national news.
 
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