Wednesday, March 16, 2005
I'm white. I'm male. I blog. Try to live with it.
After Larry Summers faced his peers at Harvard who gave him a non-vote of confidence the criticism against blogs has become the new hot topic. Kerry has spoken out against the blogosphere (which, in some weird way according to Kerry's somewhat skewed logic, was able to pollute the public discourse of mainstream media - who for some other reason that he doesn't explain didn't do the muckracking it used to). Not that Kerry seemed very pleased about muckracking when focused on him and his Vietnam records... I guess we have to conclude that, according to Kerry's statement, muckracking is only good when it targets Republicans.
I have to hand it to him. When it comes to being a poor loser, nobody does it better than Kerry.
In the same manner as with Larry Summers on Harvard, white males are being targeted. They dominate the blog community. They are only referring to other male authors. They are elitist and so forth... I never stop being amazed by the lack of logic from some Ivy League scholars, like this female blogger - Debbie Weil. She is proud of being an old Harvard alumni. Her kids go to Harvard. Well, I guess it's true then - money may get you into Harvard, but it can't really buy you a brain.
Jeff Jarvis provides some great punchlines to the overtly politically correct academics out there, like Newsweek's Steven Levy :
The last paragraph is essential in a democracy. Anyone can blog. Whenever modern democracies face the problem of widening gaps between the voters and the elected offials, it opens up for gatekeeping and principal-agent problems (i.e. it is hard for electors to get first-hand information from public officials which leads to the heavy emphasis on media conglomerates and their information advantage). The blogs have turned this relationship around. Mainstream media now face the same kind of scrutiny only they had the power to enforce before.
The true "public" interest, if there ever was one, is of course ultimately better served by a transparent and diverse blogging community than with a single white male columnist in Newsweek.
I have to hand it to him. When it comes to being a poor loser, nobody does it better than Kerry.
In the same manner as with Larry Summers on Harvard, white males are being targeted. They dominate the blog community. They are only referring to other male authors. They are elitist and so forth... I never stop being amazed by the lack of logic from some Ivy League scholars, like this female blogger - Debbie Weil. She is proud of being an old Harvard alumni. Her kids go to Harvard. Well, I guess it's true then - money may get you into Harvard, but it can't really buy you a brain.
Jeff Jarvis provides some great punchlines to the overtly politically correct academics out there, like Newsweek's Steven Levy :
"First, what's wrong with being a white male? I'm white and male. Not much I can
do about it. Not much I want to do about it. I'm sure as hell not going to
apologize for it. I'm white. I'm male. I blog. You got a problem with that?
Tough.
Second, I hate to break the news to you, Steven but... you're white
and male, too! And you sit there in a Big Big-Media Job that is not held by
someone unwhite and unmale. Should you ask why that is? Should you feel guilty?
Should you quit? Should someone ask these questions of you?
Third, anyone can blog. Anyone. If you're not white or not male or not American or not powerful or not rich or not anything, you can still blog. This is not like Big Media, where there's a gate to keep and a ceiling to hit. This is a wide-open medium where
anyone can blog."
The last paragraph is essential in a democracy. Anyone can blog. Whenever modern democracies face the problem of widening gaps between the voters and the elected offials, it opens up for gatekeeping and principal-agent problems (i.e. it is hard for electors to get first-hand information from public officials which leads to the heavy emphasis on media conglomerates and their information advantage). The blogs have turned this relationship around. Mainstream media now face the same kind of scrutiny only they had the power to enforce before.
The true "public" interest, if there ever was one, is of course ultimately better served by a transparent and diverse blogging community than with a single white male columnist in Newsweek.
