In Defense of Blogs

Another more personal and less serious post this time around. I've decided to write an article justifying the role of the Web log in the scope of the media communications industry. Guys like Geoffrey Nunberg and John Dvorak don't seem to want to believe that the blog is a viable means of information relay. Both of them have written decent columns on the subject, though I think their ideas are fundamentally flawed. Dvorak's was written in November of last year, and Nunberg wrote his piece, which he read and broadcast for NPR's Fresh Air program, in April of this year.

Nunberg's was quite a bit more thoughtful and generally better-researched than Dvorak's. I suppose Nunberg, being an academic, has just learned that he needs to have better arguments than Dvorak, pop-tech columnist. However, they're both worth a read, and I'll link to them here. I'll also post my own piece, once I'm finished with it, obviously.

John Dvorak's "Co-Opting the Future."
Geoffrey Nunberg's "Blogging in the Global Lunchroom."

While browsing around AlterNet.org, I saw a link to an interview of an ex-Marine who was part of the Iraqi liberation campaign, done by Paul Rockwell, of the McClatchy Company's Sacramento Bee newspaper. After doing some searching, I found out that the Marine, SSgt. Jimmy Massey, had been quoted in several different stories during the course of the second conflict in Iraq. He had an epiphany (which, according to the interview, happened while he was policing Iraqi citizens), which turned him completely against the war.

The interview is quite good and worth a read, especially alongside the recent books by Bob Woodward and Richard Clarke and articles published by people who have little, if any, direct connection to the actual fighting and day-to-day operations in Iraq.

Here's the interview, as provided by AlterNet: A Soldier of Conscience

Quite a few European media outlets jumped on the story of an American soldier reevaluating his life and dedication to the cause. It's interesting, though not surprising, to note that no other major American media outlets made mention of the interview.