After yesterday's complaints about the horrible obit of Michael Kidd given by National Public Radio's Steve Inskeep, I'd be remiss if I didn't spend a moment or two slamming Inskeep's series of stories marking the tenth anniversary of the term "blogging".
His tone is, not surprisingly, contemptuous, vaguely amused by all these deluded souls who think their ramblings, their "descriptions of their morning's activities," as Inskeep put it, are worth reading. Why, he asked with a condescending chuckle, do people bother writing these things?
Two thoughts:
1) Clearly, undeniably, blogging has brought about a certain democratization of the writing process. Yes, many blogs (including this one, usually) are nothing more than random thoughts or laundry lists of things pissing off their authors. But how, exactly, is that different from what newspaper columnists--or radio pundits--do?
An ambitious blogger can easily maximize readership by any number of methods--joining a blogging network, placing their efforts in as many search engines as possible, what have you. Somebody with absolutely no writing experience can find their daily efforts read by hundreds, even thousands of people each day. No, those aren't New York Times or even NPR numbers, but people are reading...and coming back for more every day.
It makes sense for the mainstream media to denigrate the blogging efforts of average citizens, since they show all too clearly that the average Joe or Jane has at least as much capability for political analysis, a better sense of humor and often a more distinctive prose style than any David Brooks or Thomas Friedman. The Old Guard is dying, and they're scared.
2) As far as Inskeep personally, all I can say is, Shut the hell up, dude. The ratings for Morning Edition have either flattened or decreased (depending on the source) since Inskeep and Renee Montagne took over for Bob Edwards three years ago, and both NPR and Public radio International are developing morning programs to compete against Morning Edition. Let me say that again: NPR apparently has so little faith in their flagship show (and it's smarmy, irritating host) that it is trying to interest member stations in a more "cutting-edge" version of the same thing.
Soon, Inskeep may no longer be able to look down his nose at the blogging community. If NPR kicks his ass to the curb, he may find himself just another guy with a computer and a website, praying for at least a hundred hits a day.
