They Still Don't Get It
By Bluey Posted in Blogosphere — Comments (12) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
My boss at Heritage, Rebecca Hagelin, was at a policy discussion lunch sponsored by 630 WMAL, when a couple of media "giants" revealed how they still just don't get the power of little David and his well-placed stone.
When asked by an attendee, "What kind of influence do you think bloggers are going to have in the next election?" Mark Halperin, political director of ABC News, smugly said, "Not as much as they think. All of those people in the pajamas don't have a lot of influence. They are read by us because we're on the other side of the divide ... but they don't have a lot of influence."
ABC News White House reporter Ann Compton chimed in with one qualifier, "The first blogger that pulls a Drudge -- as in Monica Lewinsky," will have impact. "Otherwise, no one I know has time to read blogs."
Perhaps we should e-mail to Mark and Ann to correct their misperceptions.
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bloggers have busted the MSM this past year on a few stories and proof is in the numbers for declining readership for the NY Slimes and WAPO. Me thinks they doth protest to much, he.
Peace through superior fire power:)
That liberal blogs like DKos and Atrios and Democratic Underground (which, I know, isn't really a blog) already have all the influence they can get. That's why the swipe at "pajamas people."
They're telling you right now that Republicans and Conservatives have been officially declared *evil* and not to be listened to.
Is still the conflation of The Drudge Report with a blog. Regardless, these are "circling the wagons" statements, coming from people who know their influence is waning very precipitously. They're sticking up for their little fiefdom of shaping and controlling public opinion, but even they know that the more they deny it, the worse it will get.
Perhaps we should e-mail to Mark and Ann to correct their misperceptions.
No, let them be blind-sided.
Besides, they'd be right only if blog readers don't pass along what they learn to others. Perhaps that's something that could be expanded upon and enabled more.
No one I know watches ABC News.
Fortuna Favet Fortibus
I'm a mortgage banker and I do quite a bit of business with American Broker's Conduit. They are a good sized mortgage bank but I had no idea ABC had had a "news" division, let alone anybody called a "political director". Wow. The mortgage banking industry is really changing faster than I realized.
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Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged. — J. Michael Waller
I sent the following email to Mark Halperin:
"There just don't seem to be enough hours in the day to plop down in front of the television and be spoonfed subjective stories masquerading as objective news. Methinks you overestimate the power of the dinosaur media which is in free fall, while underestimating the grass roots influence of blogs. P.S. I'm not wearing pajamas, I'm in a suit and tie."
Mark Halperin responded in a matter of minutes:
"I agree with your general take and shouldn't have been so negative about the web. But as of today, there are still tens of millions of eyeballs, versus hundreds of thousands."
He's still wrong . . . but in a classy way.
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"We can all do our part to save the planet by dying." - R.E. Finch
"Otherwise, no one I know has time to read blogs."
It's called turning off the boob tube. It's being done by millions every day. Especially those with some intellect. You know, the 'most likely voters'. Go ahead Ann, keep your head in the sand. Who cares? Let the MSM die. Good riddance.
"Damnant quod non intellegunt."
Isn't Halperin the guy that wrote those policy memos at ABC demanding that they especially fact check the President in 2004 ? The ones in that in not so many words said do a hit job on the campaign during the truthcheck segments ?
______________________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
...Halperin also caught a lot of lefty flack for repeatedly admitting that the MSM treats Republicans unfairly. Here are a few of Halperin's quotes that drove the wingnuts nuts:
"The reality of how [liberal bias] affects media coverage is outrageous."
"[T]he Mary Mapes' of the world are ruining it for the rest of us, and they are the dominant majority."
"Most of my colleagues, as you know, are in denial about [liberal bias], or blind to it."
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"We can all do our part to save the planet by dying." - R.E. Finch
Except that they should have noted that liberal blogs will have a big influence, both on their stories and on their spin. Shhhhhh.