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.

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:

Anyway, I don’t get the argument. I can’t imagine that anyone — even the most anti-Internet person on earth — believes that it’s going away. What do the Corbinators really think should be done here? Close down the Internet? Make people take decorum courses when they write nasty and stupid stuff? Take away picture phones from all Americans and restrict the blogging rights of anyone who has not read the complete works of W.C. Heinz, Jimmy Cannon, Jim Murray, Red Smith and both the Lardners? This is where we are. The blogosphere is messy and rude and funny and silly and idiotic and pointless and literate and everything else that we are as Americans. I wish there wasn’t so much nastiness out there. I wish it wasn’t so easy to be anonymous. I wish people would stand behind what they say. Maybe we can reel some of that in. Let’s talk about that.

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.

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.

@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?

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.