Posted by Orin Kerr:
Blogs As "Youthful Informational Indiscretions":
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2005_05_01-2005_05_07.shtml#1115161532
The ombudsman for [1]National Public Radio reports on a major goof at
NPR recently: When NPR posted a redacted version of a classified
government report, they posted a version that could be un-redacted by
translating it into another format. Some Internet users realized the
error and translated the format; some then posted the un-redacted
version of the report on the web, including at some blogs.
What's the lesson of the story? Well, one obvious lesson is not to
post a version of a classified government document that can be
unredacted. Posting that version effectively posted the classified
information to the Net, which is really really bad. The NPR ombudsman
draws a different lesson, though: he blames the blogosphere.
[T]he blogosphere has proven once again to be an amoral place
with few rules. The consequences for misbehavior are still vague.
The possibility of civic responsibility remains remote. It is a
place where the philosophy of "who posts first, wins" predominates.
The blogosphere's lack of morals is apparently part of a broader
problem facing American youth today:
American newspapers traditionally and scrupulously segregate
fact-based reporting from opinion by designating pages for each.
Radio and television try to ensure that opinion remains secondary
to reporting. Conclusions should be drawn warily. Bloggers tend not
to care if they, and their [mostly young] readers conflate opinion
and fact. It's part of the appeal of the blogosphere.
As news organizations fight to regain their battered credibility
and vanishing audiences, the blogs and the number of people who
read them continue to grow. The blogs entertain, they provoke, and
they are not constrained by journalistic standards of truth
telling.
This is a challenge and a danger for journalism.
Can the MSM adopt any blog values to attract the younger
audience? Or should we wait and see? Perhaps these younger people
will outgrow these youthful informational indiscretions and come to
their senses -- and back to media that can serve them best...
I have my doubts...
I tell ya, kids today. First it was that "rock and roll" music; now
they've moved on to reading blogs.
Thanks to [2]Howard for the link. (Oh, and I should say that I
wasn't sure if the ombudsman was being serious at first; after reading
over the post a few times, though, I don't think it's meant as a
joke.)
References
1. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4628781
2. http://legalaffairs.org/howappealing/050305.html#002457
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