The Most Insufferably Arrogant Big Media Piece on Bloggers Yet
(Note: The title of this post is accurate only if you consider the Minneapolis Star-Tribune to be “Big Media” . . .)
So. Here I thought Tina Brown was arrogant when she suggested that bloggers were like typing monkeys, getting it right on occasion through sheer luck and relentless typing. Well, she was — but she seems downright respectful relative to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Nick Coleman, whose fit of jealous rage is titled Blogged down in Web fantasy:
[H]ere’s what really makes bloggers mad: I know stuff.
I covered Minneapolis City Hall, back when Republicans controlled the City Council. I have reported from almost every county in the state, I have covered murders, floods, tornadoes, World Series and six governors.
In other words, I didn’t just blog this stuff up at midnight.
You sound like the one who’s mad here, Nick:
Do bloggers have the credentials of real journalists? No. Bloggers are hobby hacks, the Internet version of the sad loners who used to listen to police radios in their bachelor apartments and think they were involved in the world.
Bloggers don’t know about anything that happened before they sat down to share their every thought with the moon. Like graffiti artists, they tag the public square — without editors, correction policies or community standards. And so their tripe is often as vicious as it is vacuous.
Sounds like a fair description of this column.
Coleman goes on to specifically attack Scott Johnson of Power Line, mostly for being a banker. He then lobs still more insults at bloggers:
Most bloggers are not fit to carry a reporter’s notebook.
. . . I hope that I have made a lot of politicians angry, but, again, most were Democrats, a few were Republicans, and all of them were in power. That’s the job of journalism — to scrutinize the actions of those in power.
If you think bankers will do it, your brain is blog mush.
Coleman is obviously jealous that banker Johnson is getting more readers than Coleman is. The envy drips from every line of Coleman’s jeremiad.
Captain Ed has a thorough fisking of this clown, in a post titled Nick Coleman, Off His Meds. I have it on good authority that the Captain blogged up his post at midnight, in his pajamas, next to his police radio, banana in hand. And it’s excellent. Don’t miss it.
UPDATE: Saint Paul at Fraters Libertas has more.
The one thing that bothers me most about this article: The author completely fails to give details on the mysterious “bank VPs” actual credentials. The guys at “powerlineblog” to whom this author is OBVIOUSLY referring are all highly educated attorneys. From memory, I believe that at least one of them clerked for the Supreme Court, and they all attended Ivy League law schools. Last time I checked THAT kind of resume bought you a lot more credibility than a high school degree and a bunch of years covering local issues in Minnesota. What a dipshit.
Comment by Luke Pingel — 9/29/2004 @ 8:40 am
The blogosphere will overtake you all. Resistance is futile.
Comment by Regret — 9/29/2004 @ 9:37 am
Hers is the MSM version of the frustrated suitor who loses to his rival, ” I just dunno what she sees in the other guy!”
Comment by ras — 9/29/2004 @ 10:25 am
Do bloggers have the credentials of real journalists?
Do journalists have the credentials of real journalists? What is it that a J-School degree enables you to do that say, a Music School degree doesn’t? Well, how about experience as a professional journalist?
There are two honest answers to these questions. The first is some journalists have the credentials (degree or experience or both) and some don’t. Just like bloggers. And being a journalist is a fiduciary responsiblity. It’s a position of trust. When you violate the trust you’ll lose out. Also like bloggers.
Comment by Dave Schuler — 9/29/2004 @ 1:10 pm
My…aren’t we getting just a little testy? Does the fear of competition have you staying up all night?
I don’t know what the J-school degree really gives anyone. It is a craft, not a profession.
Comment by Mike — 9/29/2004 @ 2:42 pm
Have YOU Kicked A Puppy Today?
Looks like Nick Coleman somebody needs a nap:
Do bloggers have the credentials of real journalists? No. Bloggers are hobby hacks, the Internet version of the sad loners who used to listen to police radios in their bachelor apartments and think they …
Trackback by Ubique Patriam Reminisci — 9/29/2004 @ 2:50 pm
I sent the following to Nick……
“My Gosh Nick!!!!!!!!!
Get a grip on yourself…..
You have come across as if the “blogs” were written by the demented idiots of the “my DVD an me are buddies” crowd.
I have a blog, Nick……
I am a NEWSMAN……not today, but from yesterday….from back when NEWS was a valuable and verifiable commodity……
A time when NEWS was written with BOTH sides represented……when NEWS meant you heard what left and right had to say!
NOT a time when you used your position to delve into why YOUR ideas are right and everything else is WRONG!
I was, in fact, an award-winning newman in editorials, medical programs, and in the field of documentaries….when radio was AM and we were creative, and prided ourselves on being UNBIASED!
Wish you could say the same….
Gonna reply to me?
I doubt it!
Paul “Duke” DeLand
Tampa, Florida
(A broadcast newsman from Illinois in the 60s/70s)”
Will he reply….doubt it!
Duke
Comment by Duke DeLand — 9/29/2004 @ 3:25 pm
I sent the following to Nick……
“My Gosh Nick!!!!!!!!!
Get a grip on yourself…..
You have come across as if the “blogs” were written by the demented idiots of the “my DVD an me are buddies” crowd.
I have a blog, Nick……
I am a NEWSMAN……not today, but from yesterday….from back when NEWS was a valuable and verifiable commodity……
A time when NEWS was written with BOTH sides represented……when NEWS meant you heard what left and right had to say!
NOT a time when you used your position to delve into why YOUR ideas are right and everything else is WRONG!
I was, in fact, an award-winning newman in editorials, medical programs, and in the field of documentaries….when radio was AM and we were creative, and prided ourselves on being UNBIASED!
Wish you could say the same….
Gonna reply to me?
I doubt it!
Paul “Duke” DeLand
Tampa, Florida
(A broadcast newsman from Illinois in the 60s/70s)”
Will he reply….doubt it!
Duke
Comment by Duke DeLand — 9/29/2004 @ 3:25 pm
Nick Coleman is frightened - or he should be. Coleman is watching helplessly as his ‘trade’, or ‘craft’ or whatever it is to be a journalist (’profession’ is far too exalted a term for what is basically a walk-on job) is being made obsolete by the technology of the blog where vast stores of information are instantly accessible and lies and half truths are remorselessly exposed. Not at all like the good old days of journalism where the readers can never get back at you and demand a correction or clarification.
One of the most pathetic characters in modern literature is Rabbit Angstrom of Updike’s ‘Rabbit’ series. In the opening novel, ‘Rabbit Run’, poor useless Rabbit sees his demanding union skill as linotyper become obsolete as it is replaced by electronic typesetting, something that any amateur can master in a couple of days. Nick Coleman, journalist - meet Rabbit Angstrom, linotyper. Prepare to crawl into the ashbin of history.
Comment by MrGrumpyDrawers — 9/29/2004 @ 7:14 pm
EVERYONE LOVES (DISSING) NICK
Posting hilarity did ensue: local bloggers Craig Westover, Bogus Gold, Centrisity, Steve Gigl, New Patriot, Pair ‘O Dice, Plastic Hallway and Wog’s Blog all took a whack. Even many of the bigwigs couldn’t resist: Vodkapundit, Hugh Hewitt, Patterico, Qa…
Trackback by Spitbull — 9/30/2004 @ 2:44 pm
See More BS, But Not From CBS
An op-ed by Nick Coleman on the 29th was just brought to my attention, and I had to wipe the vitrol off of me when he was done. This just in: I am a very wealthy man, born into privilege…
Trackback by The Politicker — 10/1/2004 @ 1:19 am
I’m a Minneapolis resident, have seen Nickolai Kolmanov’s whining drivel around for years, as he followed his mother-in-law to jobs at both of the dailies in town. His mommy got him those jobs, so that’s the credentials you really need. Oh, and he’s a columnist, not a reporter, for whatever difference that’s worth. Both the Pioneer Press and Strib are less than worthless, due in small measure for publishing the musings of little Nickie.
Comment by MK — 10/2/2004 @ 10:23 am