... in my previous post that "having my posts commented upon and sometimes challenged by [visitors to this blog] has sharpened my thinking" than Jeff McDonald proves it . Jeff comments:
As for, "this is something some of my official colleagues in the news business would do well to ponder." ... I think that IS going on, slowly, but surely. My station is affiliated with the NBC television network, and I have been impressed with how the reporters/anchors there have developed a blog component (through msnbc.msn.com) to complement and develop their broadcast component ...
He is, of course, right. A prime example is my colleague Dan Rubin's blog blinq. But Dan is a top-notch reporter and knows full well that blogging is more than just doing your usual journalism online. I've suggested here before that I think new forms will emerge from the practice of online writing (and that is in fact happening -- see link in previous post to Jill Walker).
I also agree that it is inevitable that a symbiotic relationship will be established between the blogosphere and the MSM, and that it will prove immensely productive.
So thanks, Jeff, for helping me clarify my own thinking.
And while I'm reviewing what I wrote last night, I should add that, while exchanges at this blog have been invariably cordial, I have certainly seen plenty of instances on blogs of inexcusable rudeness. Whatever virtues the Thersites who comments frequently at Ann Althouse may have, common civility is not among them. There are even lit blogs where a certain angry, coarse-languaged MO seems to be the order of the day. As a shrewd Jesuit once explained to me, sarcasm works best when measured carefully and used precisely.
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