Tuesday, July 15, 2008

On Fox News Channel Yesterday Morning


In a discussion about the recent cover of the New Yorker magazine, Brian Kilmeade, one anchor of Fox and Friends, said, "I've been on the Internet. It's a scary place."

Yeah, Brian. We bloggers are scary, all right. Get used to it.

I decided to send "Fox and Friends" an email:

In the first hour of today's show, Brian said, "I've been on the Internet. It's a scary place."

Scary???

The blogosphere is neither perfect nor always accurate. We aren't professional journalists, after all. Nevertheless, it would behoove the mainstream media to do some reading of certain sites on the web and stop ignoring the valid stories which break and are discussed in the blogosphere -- the stories which you will not tell or cover in any depth.

I hope that you understand that the mainstream media is losing credibility -- and why.

We bloggers are the pamphleteers of the Twenty-first Century. Get used to it.

~ Always On Watch

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The issue should hit the stands today if it hasn't already. I'm going to be very interested in how Borders treats this. Usually we stock The New Yorker in racks right in front of the registers, where they are very visible. If it gets relegated to the mag stands instead you will be the first to hear but you won't have heard it from me, right?

Anonymous said...

The world is a scary place. What is he talking about?

Pastorius said...

For the past few weeks, the NYT and CNN have been linking to our stories almost every day.

Unlike most blogs, WE ACCEPT NO ADVERTISING OR MONEY FOR WHAT WE DO.

Point is, the NYT/CNN would not link to us if what we did had no value, and even though we do have value, we do not try to turn it into money.

So, NYT/CNN is attempting to profit off of things we don't try to profit off of.

So, if what we do is "scary", then NYT/CNN is without morals in using our work.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to you then! :) It's a great honour to read your blog.

Pastorius said...

Thanks.

But, of course, we're just a bunch or everyday dummies ( not trained journalists or writers) who have decided,

"If not us, then who?"

We're wrong too often, but we try to be honest about it when we are.

:)

Anonymous said...

Well, it has been an amusing day. Our manager stuck the NY-er right up front on the magazine racks at the "point of purchase" though his motives are unclear beyond hoping to sell a lot of them. I think we sold about 6-8. Reactions ranged from "digusting!" "they should be ashamed of themselves!" (for what, the implied satire or the truth, was never specified) to a clutch of 3 of us giggling over it down in the far corner of the counter. Of course, for anyone who didn't like the presentation of the Obammasiah on TNY, they could get him practically wearing a halo on Newsweek over on the last rack.

Interestingly, however, there was really very little interest in terms of people actively looking for or coming in specifically to get that magazine.

I have no idea what to make of our genius candidate McCain's comment to the effect that if it was meant as satire it was offensive and in poor taste. (John? Good satire usually is. That's why so many of us were bummed when Carlin died.)