In Defense of Bloggers

(Cartoon by Nick Anderson, The Louisville Courier-Journal)

I’m relatively new to the blogosphere. I started here at ITI last November and have thoroughly enjoyed my time writing about my favorite team and debating with fans and haters. I also write or blog about television, movies and pop culture for a few other sites because I have a lot to say about those subjects.

Since entering the vast network of Interwebs, I have noticed a combative relationship exists between the mainstream media (mostly newspapers and magazines) and bloggers, in which both sides constantly jab at one another about who is more relevant in 2009. Dying newspapers or the burgeoning blogosphere: Who ya got?!

This antagonistic association has become more heated now that newspapers as we knew them are disappearing at an alarming rate. Going down to the corner or local market and plopping down fifty cents for your morning paper will be a thing of the past soon. Like it or not, all forms of media have moved online. Like it or not, that’s where a growing portion of people are getting their information and entertainment. Places like hulu.com even let you watch episodes of your favorite TV shows from past and present.

Which leads me to my main point. John White, who blogs for the Carolina Panthers here at FanSided, shared this attack article from IndyStar.com, written by Bob Kravitz. Here’s Bob’s mini bio, taken from the site:

Bob Kravitz has been a Star sports columnist since 2000.

He is married, has two young daughters, two cats and too many emotional problems to count. In his spare time, he attempts to play ice hockey and golf.

Bob writes four times a week, with two or three of them being vaguely readable.

Notice the weak self-deprecation. He has “emotional problems,” “attempts to play hockey and golf,” and only some of his writing is “vaguely readable.” We get it, Bob. You’re so profound, you can poke fun at yourself and not suffer any negative consequences.

Bob seems to love himself a lot. There are not one, but two head shots beside his magical prose. One is so massive it takes up about a quarter of the page. His article is about bloggers hiding behind pseudonyms, so I imagine this is Bob’s way of screaming, “Hey, look at me, I’m not hiding!” Well played, Bob.

To Bob’s main criticism: Bloggers, or “weenies” as he so eloquently calls them, who hide behind ridiculous monikers. Well, I for one don’t hide behind a fake name. The name at the top of this post and every post I write is my real name. The email address on the contact page is my real address. If anyone has something to say, good or bad, they can easily get a hold of me.

Here’s Bob’s problem with those who conceal their true identities:

“My biggest objection is the proliferation of blogs and posts by anonymous weenies — or pansies, if you will. Everybody is big and brave behind a pseudonym, but confront them face to face, and next thing you know they’re changing underwear.”

Why does Bob care what name a blogger uses? If they have something to say or an opinion to express, what difference does it make? Mark Twain, George Orwell, Lewis Carroll and Dr. Suess are all famous pseudonyms. Does the fact they adopted a pen name make them cowards or lessen the legitimacy of their writing? I don’t think so.

Listen, I’m not comparing a blogger who trashes the Broncos‘ front office for trading Jay Cutler to the brilliant works of Samuel Clemens, but the point is writers and bloggers use aliases for different reasons. Some bloggers can’t afford to use their actual name for fear it might cost them their “real” job (most of us bloggers don’t get paid, Bob). A host of employers are so strict and out of touch, that they will terminate an employee for expressing a controversial opinion on a personal blog or social network site.

I recall this story from March, where an Eagles‘ stadium worker lost his job after openly criticizing the organization. If he had expressed himself on his personal blog, under another name, he would probably still have his job. Since he used his real name, he was fired. I don’t agree with the decision, but that’s how corporations play these days. They don’t like negative PR and will do whatever it takes to quiet or punish a dissenting voice.

More from Bob:

“The rest [of the blogs], though, are garbage. Some are little more than clearinghouses filled with links from mainstream media sources, including The Star. Others are dominated by the writings of people who hide behind ridiculous pseudonyms like Big Blue Shoe and Deshawn Zombie.”

“It’s like this: You will be taken seriously, and should be taken seriously and should be given credentials to cover the team, when you stop hiding behind silly names.”

I’ve got a newsflash for you, Bob. A lot of bloggers have no interest in covering their favorite teams in an official capacity. They have real passion for their team and enjoy expressing their frustrations and thoughts without being scolded by big bad newspaper scribes who have grown tired and jaded with their profession. It sounds like Bob is afraid one of these “pansies” might get legit credentials and put him to shame by writing insightful articles. Just because someone uses a dumb screen name doesn’t mean they have nothing interesting to say.

If bloggers are so irrelevant, I wonder why Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times’ writer Maureen Dowd plagiarized from one. I guess she was naive enough to believe she could steal the random meanderings of some obscure blogger without repercussions. Not in the 21st century, Maureen.

Back to Bob. He wraps up his piece with the following:

“We hide behind technology that makes one-way conversations possible.”

“We hide behind technology that provides us with pseudonyms and takes accountability out of the equation.”

“Journalism, and life, are about true human connections. We lose that, we lose the essence of what it means to truly communicate.”

I agree that modern forms of communication can be impersonal, but it’s not like I can communicate with my friend in California face to face on a daily basis. I can “talk” to him every day via Twitter or email, though. If anything, I’d argue technology has broadened communication between humans, not hindered it. If not for the Interwebs, a person from New Jersey would not be able to debate an issue with someone from India without running up a pretty expensive phone bill.

Here’s my advice to you, Bob Kravitz. Rather than wasting your time attacking easy targets like bloggers, why not do your best to maintain your own credibility. If you do your job well, you won’t have to fear some anonymous blogger overtaking you on the relevance scale. Quit whining about the “weenies” and “pansies.”

We are not the enemy, Bob. We are exercising our first amendment rights on a platform that can reach people across the globe. If we lose that, “we lose the essence of what it means to truly communicate.”

My name is Scott Tunstall, Bob. I’m not hiding from you or anyone else.

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