It is the job of the blogosphere to keep an eye on the blather of the Big Media and correct it from time to time. I'd say we're pretty good at it, as, for instance, the New York Times learned following Judith Miller's paid complicity in the run up to war.
Miller, seems to me, was a fully-conscious shill for the Bushies, trading stories for flattery and easy access to power. No one could argue from the evidence that she is stupid or badly trained or casual about overlooking new directions that a story wants to take. She was on the take.
Others who write news for national consumption - and who are not necessarily shilling for the man - might as well be. When stinky little turds are left lying around important stories and passed off as posies, the quality of news suffers.
A small, but non-trivial example follows:
Read More