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Thoughts on the SPJ Panel Discussion

As many of you are aware, I participated in a panel discussion at the Louisville chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists on Thursday, November 16th. It was truly a joy to share thoughts and opinions with others (both panelists and members of the SPJ) on blogging during this meeting of the SPJ.

Ed Staats was a wonderful host. He certainly made Mark (my boyfriend) and I feel right at home from the moment we arrived and guided us easily into and out of the program. Milton Metz is not only very entertaining as a dinner companion but he's also quite a gentleman. Both are simply lovely people and their wives complement that loveliness very well. They must make this organization quite proud.

It was a true pleasure meeting Nabil Echchaibi, Mark Hebert, and Mark Nickolas. They are all passionate about what they do and have some very interesting thoughts on the process and the people around them. Quite frankly, I was surprised to find myself in agreement with just about every point made by each panelist during the discussion. I expected to differ on a few things with each of them; however, since the focus of the discussion was on blogging, it became apparent that each of us (regardless of our slant) understands what this medium is about and what it means in a larger context.

Nabil Echchaibi brought up a very interesting point of "relevance versus accuracy" during the discussion. It leads very naturally to the fact that mainstream news outlets try to be accurate and relevant; bloggers shoot more for relevance and then accuracy. Newspapers, in particular, must decide before going to print what is relevant and newsworthy while trying to ensure their information is accurate; after all, they must try to please a very broad audience, one that expects accuracy. Bloggers write about what they think is relevant to their world (and a more narrowly-defined audience) but accuracy is often determined well after the piece is posted or in a series of continuing posts on the subject. We have much more leeway in our medium than do the traditional media outlets. Frankly, I like it that way. It allows us to be free-thinking while, at times, providing a sort of watch-dog service on the mainstream media.

The 24x7 news outlets (like cable news networks in particular) are shooting primarily for relevance and simply do not take the time necessary to verify and re-verify their accuracy before they air a news item. They jump immediately into analysis of the topic without having many verified facts with which to weigh the analysis. Most of the mainstream media have fallen into that trap as well. While savvy consumers understand that the information they are getting is "in the moment" and not necessarily aired with all the information fully vetted, it is often resented because it cannot be taken as fact. Bloggers serve a purpose within the realm of the mainstream media by doing their own investigations, often utilizing expertise in their blog audience. This is what led famously to the unmasking of the phony memo used by Dan Rather in his report on President Bush's service. In this respect, blogs are becoming what the media used to tout as their venue: we guard, to some degree, against the proliferation of propaganda and/or disinformation.

I don't envy Mark Hebert. He is blogging about his area of expertise at the suggestion of his employer. That's a tough line to walk -- write fair-minded pieces on politics for your employer as a reporter and then blog about your opinions on the very subject you are paid to investigate daily as a person with extensive knowledge at the personal level! That's a tough predicament in which to find oneself. If your employer doesn't like your opinion or feels it taints your "objectivism" as a reporter your blog may be very short-lived, indeed! And for some in my experience, it has cost them their jobs. Not that this would happen to Mark Hebert but it is certainly risky at best.

Speaking of Mark Hebert, he is a genuinely nice guy with a terrific sense of humor. We talked quite a lot during dinner. He took at look at this blog and said he enjoyed the writing. When I mentioned how offensive the "Autorantic Virtual Moonbat" might be to people on the Left, he chuckled. When I equated the AVM to my experiences on the street with the old hippies of the Louisville Peace Action Committee (LPAC), he laughed heartily. I think we've had similar experiences with those folks!

We also found that we had the same professor at WKU, Professor Wicklander, for Mass Communications. In that class we were taught that people process information from all sources based on their own personal "filters" (their experiences in life, what they learned from their parents growing up, and what they know from their studies, etc.). During the panel discussion, an opportunity arose for me to make the distinction of "transparency" versus the appearance of "objectivity." In that moment, I was able to relay a bit of that lesson on "filters." I was extremely proud to have Mark Hebert echo my feeling that there is "no such thing as objectivity." Imagine!

I think we find ourselves in agreement that there is such a thing as "striving for objectivity" and being fair-minded but objectivity cannot exist in a world where human beings each interpret facts based on their own personal filters. Folks, it's my hope that as blogging evolves and the mainstream media begin to understand integrity as transparency, we may very well find ourselves with news outlets that either (a) position the facts against a transparent opinion; or (b) report the facts without allowing their opinions to color the language in which those facts are presented.

Toward the end of the evening, Mark Nickolas and I actually found that we had some things in common. Imagine that! He is originally from Oakland, California which is a large part of the San Francisco Bay Area. I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for 17 years. As you can imagine, my political ideology not practiced much in that part of the nation. As a Conservative, you'd have to travel East to find similar viewpoints. It was quite a challenge living there. As a matter of fact, I found myself reading more Liberal magazines and joining PETA at one point! Geography and groupthink can affect even the most staunchly Conservative young minds. Believe me.

Mark even admitted, oddly enough, that he voted for Reagan in 1984. I hope I haven't outed him to his target audience! If so, then they now have a point of reference that should be educational. It pleased me immensely to find that, even though I strongly disagree with this man's political ideology, we are both fair-minded enough to do what we think is good for this country when the opportunity presents itself. I applaud him for that honest disclosure. It's enlightening and, yes, it's more common ground!

Mark Nickolas surprised me in a few ways but was predictable in others. As expected, and commented on here at ConservaChick, he did liken himself to Thomas Paine and the early pamphleteers. However, he did not make the distinction that Thomas Paine wrote about ideals and values that he thought were good for this country and not hit pieces on party leaders. Paine revolutionized the way people think about their government. Literate members of society (of which there were fewer in his time) were able to consider alternative ways of thinking. Since literacy in this country has far surpassed that of Paine's time, many more people can be affected by what they read and not all of them will bother to think any further about it. That is the true shame of blogging. Many readers will read opinions and take them on as their own without further thought.

Mark sees his blog, Bluegrass Reports, as a way to lead revolutionary changes. I think that's a noble idea; however, I don't see how it's practiced when most of its readership are like-minded people. How will their thoughts be changed by simply reading an echo of them? The same is true for many blogs and their audiences. The published opinions of a blogger often draw only readers in agreement. Even though we don't care to think about this, it is yet another form of political polarization. The only way, in my opinion, to change that polarization would be to provide a blog site where both camps voice their opinions on a regular basis. Posts with a transparent Conservative leaning juxtaposed with posts with a transparent Liberal leaning might spark more revolutionary thought than the current echo chambers.

I think the natural evolution of the mainstream media and blogging will just such a website. I will applaud loudly and long the first such site that appears on the internet. It will revolutionize our political world like no other. If I were able to blog fulltime, that would be my first order of business. It would provide transparency and relevance in a way that allows people to be fair-minded in their view of this nation and our future. Readers might be prompted to start investigating the thoughts they read and providing an even great scope of accuracy. What a concept, eh?

When asked if blogs are a fad and what type of blogs may survive, panelists were varied in responses. Those panelists who are making a living at what they do were sure that blogs will never disappear as a marketplace of ideas. I'm not so sure. The line between organizations and their websites (for-profit and non-profit) and that of bloggers who are often hobbyists rather than businesspeople, is blurry at best. Blogs can now incorporate advertising, the means to donate money, and sponsors on their sites. As Nabil noted, a popular blogger in France was accused of becoming a Capitalist when he incorporated these things on his blog. I felt it necessary to remind Nabil aloud that "Capitalist" isn't a dirty word. He reminded me that it certainly is to the French. Priceless exchange!

Mark Nickolas is of the opinion that the "marketplace will weed itself out." That is probably true. Which means that those of us who blog as a hobby, as concerned citizens, may be left behind as this happens. While it's important to make money at an endeavor so one can pay the bills, it's also important to note that once money starts flowing, the process, the goals, the intent can become tainted. I think the purest form of blogging is done by people like me, people who do it because they love the topics they write about. It's a Catch-22 for us though; we cannot invest as much time and energy in what we enjoy because we're busy paying the bills with other endeavors. If we could earn a fulltime living at what we do, we might become just like that which we often disdain. An interesting quandary that may work itself out in the evolution of blogging.

I'd like to thank all of you who bothered to read this long-winded post in full. The panel discussion sparked far too many thoughts to allow for a shorter post. My thanks especially to Ed Staats for seeing fit to include this blogger in the program on Thursday night. It was a sincere pleasure!

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