Christian Kerr’s rant about bloggers in the Oz last week has predictably set the cat amongst the bloggers…
Blogs are part of the mainstream media – in the US at least. I’ve just realised that a week ago was the fourth anniversary of starting up this blog, which gives me cause to reflect on how tiresome it is to still see the stale, dead-end ‘journalists versus bloggers’ argument still being aired far too often. This recent, very over-defensive effort in The Australian is an example – written by Christian Kerr, who developed his career through commentary in the independent media and should really know better (although he was probably just having some fun venting his spleen, which is the sort of thing bloggers stereotypically do). — Andrew Bartlett
Fun with blogs and Christian Kerr, who doesn’t understand them. Mark [of Larvatus Prodeo] decided to give Kerr what he so transparently desired, which was a response that linked to his op-ed, but he used something that he understands about blogs and Kerr doesn’t – the advantages of Web 2.0 features combined with LP’s high search authority ranking – to make sure that LP’s reponding post will rank high on search engine results on the name of Christian Kerr, right there next to a Wikipedia entry and Kerr’s latest articles for the Oz. — Hoyden About Town
Possum fights back. Possum isn’t going to take being dissed by Christian Kerr and the “balance and fact” crew at The Australian lying down. Video here. — Larvatus Prodeo
My first reaction to CK’s piece was “yeah so”. People with like minded ideas have always gathered together to reinforce their collective mind set. Religions have been doing it for centuries.
It’s not a crime to to be ignorant or believe in conspiricy theories. At least they are doing it in a public forum, for all to see. If their ideas, facts, theories are ill informed, so be it. It is up to the reader to either comment or pass it over for the next blog.
We the cosumers have the power, not the MSM or the bloggers.
I was pleased to read Kerr’s condemnation of bloggers who spin conspiracy theories. Hopefully his colleagues like Tim Blair, Piersed Akumen and Andrew Bolt will reflect on Kerr’s remarks and learn some valuable lessons.
Christian Kerr is one of the countries best writers.
Being compared to Blair/Bolt is an insult.
My response as a blogger. CK’s criticism didn’t hit a nerve for me either. I write for my readers which I do measure and doesn’t seem very different to press jounalists, which in fact I’m not. I got stuff they don’t and vice versa – for instance they got security of a big organisation to write stories that I ‘know’ about but can’t risk for personal safety reasons (and I don’t mean getting sued because i got my law degree and got no assets to lose, on the other hand do care about accuracy and my reputation). I got a higher education usually and a greenie campaigner’s know how.
On the other hand the headline is right that I do trawl – not exclusively – the big press. It’s a tactile thing. It’s genetic as one grandpa was a war correspondent for fairfax. I write (probably badly) because I have to …. just like CK no doubt. I particularly like to work over the same gopher reportage with my own editorial, meta analysis. Like recently the so called ‘fact’ on every newspaper NSW state and national of those folks rescued on “Mt Cook” only they weren’t. Wrong. Bogus. Phoney. And in the end after about day 3 – an outright lie. Mt Sealy range 5-10 km south of Mt Cook, different glacier system, out of season turning a doddle into a very dangerous tangle with lethal weather.
The other irony is that I don’t read the other blogs very much for facts and research but I do like the fact they are there all the same, like national parks as refugia. Wikipedia is more commonly used for it’s strengths like pics and US popular culture.
I know CK’s schtik is born to rule/personal code/recovering you know what/meta analysis. I agree with him to this extent from legal training it’s always better to meet an argument than to condemn it. That’s respectful of diverse experience and realistic of this shades of grey life. It does take serious honesty too – a cruel master.
Kerr’s rant in the Oz was bizarre for too many reasons, most of them obvious. For a bloke who got his start in internet blogging/journalism after burning out as a political advisor, it’s transparently ludicrous. To write from the Oz about a fact/fiction divide following a blog/journalism divide is double absurd plus.
But the most hilarous thing about is that it makes painfully clear that Kerr is a third rate writer. was that meandering, generalising pile of poop really meant to be a column in a newspaper? ‘The Wry Side’ slot in which it was placed has its highs and lows, but it’s always been an actual composed piece of writing. Kerr’s rant was inexplicable to anyone who didn’t know the original post – on a blog Kerr didn’t even name.
The ironic thing is that Kerr’s tenure at the Oz has shown that internet journalism masked the limits of his ability – which was pretty much limited to the pithy 100 word comment. When he has to write a full length article he’s hopelessly at sea. How long will the Oz editorial gang indulge him?