Blogs: Changing the State of the Media

Steve Rubel links to the State of the Media report, an American study conducted by The Project for Excellence in Journalism. Not surprisingly, it pinpoints blogs as changing the face of the media in the US.

“Blogs and ‘so’s your mother’-style talk shows are distorting news in America beyond what anyone could have imagined 10 years ago,” (Joe Angotti, a former NBC News executive who now teaches journalism at Northwestern University) says. “The public is finding it more difficult than ever to distinguish between legitimate news and unverified drivel. The problem is that most news consumers don’t realize that mainstream media reporters work within strict policies and guidelines that these other outlets don’t require.”

Leave it to a former news executive from one of the big three networks to make a comment like this. Mr. Angotti isn’t giving the American public enough credit if he thinks they won’t be able to navigate the increasingly complex media landscape. Those who are reading blogs to gather information also likely read mainstream news sources, and are choosing a second source of information for a reason. As for legitimate news, considering the overwhelming popularity of networks like Fox News, I’d say blogs are the least of the American media’s problems.