« Lilypad lifeboats | Main | Elliot Gould » You're either on the bus or...Friends and acquaintances who are familiar with my net.politics investigations, which were most visible around the Dean campaign, the 2004 and 2006 election seasons, and via Extreme Democracy, wondered why I was MIA when Netroots Nation came to Austin. Though my interests and tendencies fit the progressive scene, I think of myself as an independent, and I have little interest in the machinations of politicians and their handlers... unless Markos and his followers, and many others I know on the progressive scene, I don't want to be part of that process or lend it my support or acknowledge its credibility. I'm more interested in citizen participation and all the attendant warts and hassles. The New York Times has a piece on "Off the Bus," which is the sort of project I find interesting... citizen journalism via blogs and bloggers. According to the Times, the site (a sub of Huffington Post) has grown from 300 to 7,500 bloggers, and has been breaking a few stories, such as "...[Mayhill] Fowler's two big scoops, first the Obama comments, then in early June when Bill Clinton lashed out at a Vanity Fair writer." The scoops created news and also prompted intense self-reflection among traditional journalists (it’s all about us!). Had Ms. Fowler successfully pushed the envelope for campaign reporting? Or had she so fractured the rules that she set journalism back? Either way, she has become a rainmaker for OTB, the modern-day equivalent of Woodward and Bernstein inspiring hundreds of young cubs to become investigative journalists. jon posted this at 11:20 AM |
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