On the Blogosphere

As heard on ABC Radio National – Summer Breakfast

Do blogs spell the end of moderated opinion? Internet enthusiasts say “yes”. For them, the World Wide Web’s destiny is to end hierarchical, corporate control over the content and dissemination of knowledge by liberating the opinionated from the oppressive control of toady, petty and uncomprehending editors.

I disagree. Personal blogs are not a substitute for forums providing informed opinion and analysis. When they do their job well, editors provide a service of great value to time-poor citizens struggling to manage an information-rich environment. This service includes sorting, selecting and commissioning to ensure readers get the best people talking about a good mix of the most important issues of the day.

Some personal blogs are well written and their authors well-informed. But if we are honest, we would acknowledge that some are semi- literate rants by myopic cretins with tickets on themselves and serious anger management issues.

Moderating opinion is one way to guarantee citizens some degree of veracity attaches to the content we consume.

Publication history

On the Blogosphere  ABC Radio National
2007-01-05