A while back I started the Little Right Wing Circle Jerk, which is founded on two principles:

1) Information found on blogs is at least as accurate as information found in the mainstream media

2) It's morally wrong to hijack someone else's blog.

The second one is fairly easy to agree with, but the first one requires a little nerve to assert.

In my recent surfing, however, I've come across several posts in praise of the excellent job the blogosphere does of getting its facts straight. To honor these intrepid souls, I present:

THE FIRST OCCASIONAL JERKY AWARDS

The Little Right Wing Circle Jerk Award of Merit (or "Jerky") is given to those who defend the honor of blogger credibility vs. the so-called "journalistic integrity " of the mainstream media. I hereby award Jerkies to the following fine folks:

James Lileks of The Bleat:

"Christmas in Cambodia was finally mentioned Monday on Fox news, which may be the tipping point. The other channels are now free to discuss the issue by discussing the controversy, which is the standard excuse. For Fox to break a story – well, it’s like Paris Hilton hiking up her skirt to show a new tattoo that depicts details of a planned Al Qaeda attack. Consider the source! But the tattoo seems unusually detailed, and coincides with reports from other sources. Perhaps that’s the food chain of the future: Drudge > blogs > Fox > CNN > New York Times > Maureen Dowd. A relay race with a lit stick of dynamite as the baton. Can she bury it in a pail of sand in time? Stay tuned!"

Matty O'Blackfive, who quotes the Chicago Sun-Times thusly:

"Even if the major media decided to bury this story, they would probably not succeed -- and they know as much. The "blogosphere" -- that voluntary society of unpaid free-lance journalists -- is following the story avidly, correcting errors, producing original documents, sifting through different accounts. Some bloggers are for Kerry, some against, but all are together advancing the story by winnowing truth from falsehood. Unless the bloggers conclusively acquit Kerry before the story migrates outwards, the mainstream media will eventually be forced to devote serious resources to it."

Tammi of Road Warrior Survival:

"When Smash posts something, I pay attention. Same with Blackfive. Why? For several reasons, but high on the list is the fact that they talk about what they KNOW. They have established credability with me. Time and time again, they've said it and they've been right. Not only that, but if something is mistaken, or misspoken - THEY ISSUE A CORRECTION. Right there, in front of everyone. They say it. That matters. A lot."

Lynn of Reflections in d minor:

"It has always annoyed and often amused me that many people feel that what they read in books is necessarily more trustworthy than anything found on the Internet. There is, without a doubt, a lot of garbage on the Internet but there's also a lot of garbage in books, newspapers and on TV. I think the difference is that with traditional sources we always felt that there was someone looking out for us, sorting through the garbage and providing us with "reliable information." Never mind that those trusted gatekeepers might be mis-informed, biased and self-serving."

Jeremy of iRi:

if you want to compare bloggers to journalism fairly, you must measure the best of the bloggers against the best of formal journalism.

Because if you insist on defining blogging as "millions of people doodling in their journals, with rare people who sometimes make an interesting point", then I'm going to define journalism as "hundreds of thousands of parochial local rags designed to get as many local names as possible in print, and the rare international journalist that has something moderately interesting to say".[...]If you want to compare Pulitzer Prize journalism to some schmoe on LiveJournal, don't bitch when I choose a cliche-ridden sports story as indicative of Jouralism as a whole.

Bear of The Truth Laid Bear:

"That kind of carelessness might have cut it a few years ago, when somnolent Big Media hacks were satisfied to define reporting as getting quotes from both party's spokesmen. But times have changed, friends: there isn't just one new sheriff in town, there's thousands of us. We will fact-check your ass, and we will do it thoroughly and properly, with links and primary sources that let our readers decide where the truth lies. So straighten up and fly right, because we are watching --- and we do this crap for fun."

As long as they promise not to hijack any blogs, the above-linked people are cordially invited to display either the Jerky Award image or the Little Right Wing Circle Jerk logo, or both.

[Credit: Jerky Award and LRWCJ logos created by Pam of Pamibe, the queen of graphic design - she's the one to see for all your blog-related image needs]

Posted by: Harvey at 11:14 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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