Safire gets a C+ on the blogosphere
Safire’s in Der Spiegel of all places:
On the challenge from bloggers: The “platform” – print, TV, Internet, telepathy, whatever – will change, but the public hunger for reliable information will grow. Blogs will compete with op-ed columns for “views you can use,” and the best will morph out of the pajama game to deliver serious analysis and fresh information, someday prospering with ads and subscriptions.
It is certainly true that the center-right blogosphere has been energized by a relative shortage of thoughtful op-ed writers of their views in the Old Media. But much of the intensity and volume of writing from the center-right blogosphere has come from the slanted editorial judgment in story selection (SwiftBoatVets, good news in Iraq), and the biased writing of the supposedly hard news reporters (AP’s “boos” story, reporting on the economy in the election season). These latter problems are deep-set in the culture of Old Media corporations, and, as such, will not change soon. Therefore, Mr. Safire underestimates the business opportunities that may lie ahead for Glenn Reynolds or the Powerline guys or others of serious mein and journalistic ambition.