This entry was posted on
Tuesday, April 10th, 2007 at
11:33 am and is filed
under Old Media.
Oliver Kamm – A parody of democracy (mirror)
Blogs are providers not of news but of comment?
Sorry, but facts, facts, facts lurk here, despite my also making clear my opinion when I reveal those facts. These facts were not reported in the mainstream press, and *not* because of any difficulty in proving facts. An information gap exists and a responsibly-run weblog can help to fill that gap.
Also, there’s nowt wrong with opinion when it is introduced into conversation/debate. Not all weblogs play the Fox News game of blurring the line between news and editorial content.
Finally, the ‘narrowed view’ Oliver Kamm mentions can result from self-selection, but usually results from self-serving censorship… like that conducted at Iain Dale’s ‘blog’ and that of Paul Staines (where ‘debate’ is forbidden outright). So here I would argue that there *are* parties that are accountable for the decline… especially as Kamm himself uses one of these weblogs as an example of blogging. This is a growing community, often shaped by perception.
Septicisle also has some thoughts on this article.
By james_q April 10, 2007 - 4:05 pm
The idea that blogs "poison healthy debate" is a bit rich coming from Kamm, whose own writings are particularly known for their lack of rigor and substance. His assertion that without writers like Polly Toynbee (and presumably also Oliver Kamm) bloggers would have nothing to write about is hilarious. As per usual, he doesn't really have anything of any worth to say here so he merely flails around, propounding a kind of elitist world-view that distorts the meaning of the term 'democracy' almost beyond recognition.
By tyger April 10, 2007 - 8:18 pm
I can't stand Kamm. I have never come across such a jumped up sycophant. He says the things Murdoch thinks:http://tygerland.net/2006/08/18/kamm-defends-blai…