The soapbox: A place for people to stand up (literally) share their grievances, shout their anger and promote their ideas for just about anyone who will listen.

The blog: A place for people to sit down share their grievances, type their anger and promote their ideas with those who believe in them.

Blogs are often cited as the soapboxes of modern society, where censorship is limited (if existent) and just about anything goes. But, I see at least one difference lying in the fact that blogs can sometimes be difficult for people to find if they don’t know what they’re looking for — or if they do know what they’re looking for.

This idea aligns with what we discussed in class last week about shows like The Daily Show and the Colbert Report that are satirical, but are obviously leaning to one side of the political spectrum and attract viewers based on those leanings. Blogs, in a sense, can do the same thing.

I will be the first to admit that getting my blood boiling by reading the blogs of my political opponents is not high on my agenda. But, it also makes me wonder what sticking to my own side is doing to me and what sort of affect this kind of narrowcasting is having on our society. Do blogs mean the end of objective journalism or are they the start of a new type of conversational reporting?

Denise Caruso says, “The most important thing is for bloggers to identify themselves. I don’t care necessarily if they have any formal credibility on the subject they’re blogging, but I do want to know who they are and what skin they have in the game.”

I don’t necessarily agree. The most important thing in a blog should not be the identification of the blogger, but the arguments in their blog. It should not matter and will only help the narrowcasting of society for each blogger to outwardly state who they are and what they believe. I can envision an internet that turns completely red and blue, where a blog will pop up and I will click out because it is a certain color. It is inevitably a hindrance to our democracy, which requires (and is based) on avid discussion and disagreement. It makes me question how are we ever to hold discussions and disagreements if all anyone ever reads is reaffirmations of their own beliefs.

Discussion Questions:

How will (or how does) truly objective journalism fit into the Blogosphere in places other than big media blogs?

If blogs are the new media, why are traditional media outlets hesitant to cite blogs as sources?
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