The Us-Against-Them Mentality in the Blogging vs. MSM Debate
May 7th, 2008 by MarocharimI think that the reason why so many bloggers – myself included – are miffed at comments by Luis Teodoro toward blogging is that Mr. Teodoro, with all due respect to the man, is imposing a “journalistic standard” in blogging. Or as he calls it, journalists “setting examples.”
Yet what exactly is a “journalist?” Take me for example: I have been writing in the campus papers since I was in Grade III, but I am not trained to be a journalist unlike a Journalism major. Does this make me any more – or any less – a “journalist?” Does this make me a 13-year “journalism veteran?” I don’t think so. What is the difference between a “journalist” working in a well-respected national broadsheet, and a “journalist” working in a five-peso sex-and-violence tabloid? If a blogger gets shot or arrested in the spirit of the free expression and publication of opinions, does he/she become a “victim of media violence?”
Don’t get me wrong: I welcome the presence of journalists in the blogosphere. Yet with that welcome, I think, comes the rather emotional misgiving that many, if not most, bloggers share as far as The Mainstream Media is concerned: we bloggers are not – suffice to say, cannot – be journalists. We are looked down upon by an elitist, exclusivist, corporatist Mainstream Media who lumps us all up as potential Brian Gorell’s, not potential Teodoro Valencia’s.
In a way, the opposite holds true: I think (in all faith) that journalists welcome the presence of bloggers among their ranks. Yet with that welcome, I think, comes the rather professional misgiving that many, if not most, journalists share as far as New Media is concerned: bloggers pose a legitimate threat not only to circulation, but to the very existence of the newspaper and print media. Bloggers take away readerships, subscriptions, and even jobs.
Any media practitioner would be very aware of Marshall McLuhan’s famous quote: the medium is the message. With all due respect to Mr. Teodoro, the least of his concerns should be the “ethical practice” of blogging. There is no formal organization of bloggers in the Philippines that makes it an imperative for bloggers to subscribe to a “Code of Ethics.”
Because the medium is the message, I think Mr. Teodoro should not at all be concerned at “irresponsible” messages thrown about by “irresponsible” bloggers (myself included). It is the medium, not the content, that has a social effect; for that matter, THE social effect. What Mr. Teodoro (I hope inadvertently) did was to highlight that schism that exists between bloggers and journalists, that the only way for us bloggers to be “taken seriously” is for us to emulate Mainstream Media, to be “just like them.”
Yet in effect, as Mr. Teodoro blindly gropes on what blogging is all about, he invites journalists to engage in blogging to “set examples.” A slip of the tongue, or did Mr. Teodoro just concede to bloggers setting examples FOR the journalists to follow?
Hmmm… interesting.
May 7, 2008 at 8:57 am
Very interesting comments! Your observation “A slip of the tongue, or did Mr. Teodoro just concede to bloggers setting examples FOR the journalists to follow?” is simply spot on, Mr Rimorin.
May 7, 2008 at 10:19 am
Indeed! Mr. Teodoro’s remarks betray a bigoted sentiment where journalists are worthy of emulation (as “examples”) and bloggers are something less. And do journalist really follow their precious code of ethics, pray tell? It’s the same difference. Printed media has its respected broadsheets, tiltillating tabloids, girlie magazines and pornography. Ganun din naman sa internet ‘di ba? The difference is that the blogoshpere heralds the democratization of punditry. Everyone can offer their opinions on everything. We no longer have to rely on the traditional MSM gatekeepers.
May 7, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Anna: Thank you for your comment. Please, don’t call me “Mr.” ;)
Pochero: I personally would give Mr. Teodoro the benefit of the doubt. I wouldn’t call him a “bigot” at this point. I respect Mr. Teodoro as a journalist, and I admire him as an expert in journalism. However, I do not consider Mr. Teodoro an expert in blogging.
Another thing: “Democratization in punditry?” I don’t think so. To invoke Wittgenstein: “Where one does not know, one should not speak.” I am not a “pundit” just because I contribute to FilipinoVoices, for example. ;) I would rather have it that bloggers define their situations: what exactly are they in the blogosphere? Now that’s a question we should answer.
May 7, 2008 at 7:58 pm
I think we are voices – alternative voices.
May 8, 2008 at 8:40 am
Quite interesting insights. It deviates away from the polemics of “bloggers vs. journalist” and talks about the irrelevance of having a “code of ethics” for bloggers.
Lester is right–bloggers are alternative voices. We don’t claim to be news sources. And the debate is simply not in the realm of who’s a legit and whose not I think. We are the alternative source, the citizen’s purview of what’s happening.
July 21, 2008 at 7:50 am
in a free market of ideas, who cares who is the vendor? the quality of the information or message, and the credibility of the communicator or messenger, are the things that matter. greater minds would know what to believe. simple minds would always be vulnerable.