Brain likes to read the comments. He's a sensitive little guy, so please be civil.
I too thought Radwanski was way off the mark. I started reading blogs in 2004 during the U.S. presidential election because I thought that I wasn't getting the whole story from the MSM. I read blogs like Powerline, Instapundit & Realclearpolitics to get some BALANCE in the election coverage, not to REPLACE the MSM completely. I still watch CBC and ABC news every night, and read the National Post and occasionally the Globe and Mail, and I read The Economist weekly. I think that like most serious conservatives, I read blogs to complete the picture, not to surround myself with a bubble of like-minded automatons parroting the party line. Give us some credit for brains.
Great post. Very well expressed.
I think what Radwanski has done is held up the worst about political blogs, by citing an example of bigotry, and saying therefore blogging is dangerous or at least pointless, and somewhat self-serving.
Certainly there are examples of blatant bigotry and excessive ranting out there. In general, however, I find most bloggers willing to consider another POV in a respectful way. I have learned a lot from blogging that I would never have been able to pick up from other sources. I have learned to be more tolerant, more analytical and more controlled in my thoughts and reactions.
But hey, sometimes you just have to have a bit of fun too!
Nicely put, Joanne.
Although there are elements of truth to it, I think Radwanski's piece is a great example of how the MSM attempts to polarize things to get attention. Blogs and internet news sources are eating the MSM's lunch.
Cory Doctorow is closer to the mark with his essay Truth and the Net. For the most part, the blogs I visit are honest about what they know and together, willy nilly, we somehow converge towards the "truth." Once you try it, there is no going back.
A soon as I ever read the phrase "American style" I shut off and stop reading.
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