Follow Give Me The Rock
There is not much I can really add that hasn’t already been said about Bussinger-gate in terms of the “blogosphere vs. MSM”. But let me proffer this: This is not a “blog” problem or an “MSM” problem. This is not a necessarily a problem at all, depending on how you view American society as a whole (and the rest of the world, perhaps, I don’t know what Deadspin’s map overlay looks like). The fact is just that the generation(s) that are growing up now and consuming information are the generations that were raised from babes with The Simpsons, and grew up with South Park and The Family Guy. So the threshold is higher in the sense that sports fans are used to “crude and lewd” and many of us have absorbed that into our sense of humor. If journalists and writers in the MSM think that the style that Deadspin, With Leather, etc. have is disgusting, it is probably because those journalists and writers are of a generation that grew up and developed a different sense of what is funny and what is objectionable.
That’s my theory. For what it’s worth.
And for what it’s worth (to address another disturbingly childish and all too common attack on bloggers): I own a $500,000 home (that’s a half a million dollars in case anyone thinks I made a typo) within the city limits of Chicago, IL (3.9 miles from Wrigley Field), and I work for a Fortune 500 company (which is significantly higher in those rankings than Disney, ESPN’s parent company), and I like my job, and I’m keeping it. Oh, and my mom lives in Portland, OR (Hi Mom!), putting me about 2,126 miles from her basement.
And now I just want to go over to YardBarker and give a thumbs up to every Verified Athlete post over there just to throw the bird up at the Middle Man Media.
It’s easily explainable to me. Bissinger was roid raging. Maybe he’s writing a book on it!
Good stuff though. I’m in the Chicago burbs and I’m much like you in the demos you listed. I don’t care much for the crude and lewd, but it’s all too apparent that Bissinger has yet to taste the goodness of the many great blogs out there.
Comment by The Zoner — May 1, 2008 @ 8:59 am
deep breaths buddy.
Comment by seanlb — May 1, 2008 @ 9:07 am
need a roommate?
Comment by Sarge — May 1, 2008 @ 1:52 pm
@Zoner, props to Chi-town!
@seanlb, you talking to me? I actually tried to make the tone one of deep breathing, but perhaps I flubbed it at the end…
@Sarge, why? Still living in your mom’s basement?
Comment by Nels — May 1, 2008 @ 6:40 pm
Hell, do you need two roommates Nels? My basement doesn’t get a lot of sunlight and smells like mold.
Comment by Patrick — May 1, 2008 @ 7:20 pm
no, but im willing to give my house away if so…
Comment by Sarge — May 2, 2008 @ 1:44 pm
This whole debate, though I honestly haven’t read the blogosphere vs. MSM piece you linked up to, isn’t going anywhere. I think the MSM resents how today’s news cycle works and is pretty cranky about the increase in competition.
Very few reporters are choosing to understand the new way that our society gets its news. I’m sure back in the day, reporters were clutching their typewriters and resisting word processors in much the same way.
Change happens, fellas. There’s no reason we can’t all be friends while we deal with it.
Comment by Dustin Hockensmith — May 2, 2008 @ 6:27 pm
Dustin, I think you and Nels completely understand this idiotic battle between the “MSM”, by which I really mean crusty, old white dudes who say things like - “He put up a Youtube” - and “bloggers”, by which I mean, oh, everyone else in the world. Do I have to say it again? Ok, I will. I think every blogger would agree that the majority of blogs out on the Internets are shit. Complete shit. But does that mean all blogs are shit?
That’s a rhetorical question…
I love reading the Kansas City Star’s Joe Posnanski’s intelligent blog posts (yes, an MSM guy actually blogs too!). While he primarily writes about baseball, he had a great recent post discussing the awkward Will Leach and Buzz Bissinger interview:
I think the point is true. As much as the MSM wishes, the internet is not going away. At the same time, it’s important that we bloggers stand behind what we say and are willing to take criticism that comes with it.
Comment by Patrick — May 2, 2008 @ 9:26 pm
The whole argument centers around resistence to change, and it really isn’t an argument at all. Is the internet going away? Of course not. Are there negatives that come along with the way things are going? Absolutely.
Part of me, the part that works at a newspaper, understands where they’re coming from. Veteran writers worked long and hard for the right to have a voice, an influence on their readers. Now, it takes five minutes to create a blog and, bam, you’ve got a voice.
Being able to influence people is a responsibility, and I think that fact is being lost right now.
All I can say is, cream does rise to the top and blogging will be no different. The weaklings that get involved and are ill-prepared to do it for a long time will fade away and leave the best men (and women) standing.
Comment by Dustin — May 2, 2008 @ 10:29 pm