Sewing circles, blogs and the high price of technology

First, let me say that blogs cannot be highlighted, passed from my hand to yours, and stacked in my room for my cat to play with. Oh how i love paper, and the ease of type in print compared to type on screen. And I also find it hillarious that the blogger.com spellchecker found "blog" and "blogger" to be spelled wrong.

Is blogging news worthy?
My problem with blogging and this new world order in media is this: credibility! I know I'm not always credible, and that means the same for everyone blogging. What are the laws of liability on the internet? Are ther any? Do blogs have to, want to, need to run corrections?
I don't think so.
To me a blog cannot be used as a credible news source. Blogs seem to be more like big sewing circle webs, that only help create something out of nothing a mojority of the time.

So, trying to be responsible in this reporting or my opinion, here is a credible person backing up my idea. First with source info: I found this at the Columbia Journalism Review website. http://www.cjrdaily.org/archives/001851.asp

Michael Bürgi has been the editor of MediaWeek, the business trade publication, since 2004. He joined the magazine in 1993 to report on the cable industry and later became news editor, managing editor and then executive editor. He has overseen all day-to-day editorial operations since 2003. Prior to Mediaweek, Bürgi reported for Multichannel News and Inside Media.

Liz Cox Barrett: I'm curious to hear what the editor of a media trade publication thinks about blogs, how they've influenced the media business (or not) and their potential to make money (or not). Do you read any blogs? Are there any that you'd point to as particularly influential and/or likely to turn a profit?

Michael Bürgi: I'm going to start off sounding like a complete curmudgeon. First, let me say I'm a Luddite, I'm not a tremendous user of the Web for enjoyment or for recreational purposes. I use the Web for information and, really, for my job. So I'm not a tremendous fan of blogs, I've got to be honest.

What I'd say blogs really are -- if it's not a completely inappropriate comment -- a kind of a circle jerk for the world of journalists. ... We're all writing for each other. As a result I've never enjoyed that or had fun participating in that kind of milieu. I'm not a big fan of blogs but I also don't know that blogs have a big business future. They'll be around, they'll be part of the wonderful world of the Internet for decades until the next cool way of sharing information comes around, but I don't think there is much of a business there because I'm not sure how many advertisers feel the need to reach journalists (we're only one step above lawyers and used car salesmen). I'm not sure advertisers are clamoring to get their ads in front of us.

I've got to be honest, I don't read blogs. I do notice Gawker sometimes but I've got to admit I'm mainly looking just to see if they've picked up any of my stories. It's a little bit of a vanity contest, whether or not Gawker or Romenesko or MediaBistro picked up one of our stories. I don't tend to go to blogs to find stuff out or get a kick out of seeing what's out there. I read newspapers and newsweeklies and watch TV news for most of my information.

I do find fascinating this new subculture of, I guess it's being called "citizen journalism," which is really taking root and blogs are an early extension of that. It fascinates me to think how this will ever turn into a business or will it ever need to become a business. ... I'm not a big participant but I'm definitely an interested observer ...