Lazy media stereotype continued
Kevin Canfield of the Newark Journal News thinks that op-ed columnists are overrated blowhards (link via NRO’s The Corner): Op-ed columnists are the self-assured know-it-alls of the political media. Shrugging off impartiality and other journalistic creeds in favor of partisan swagger, D.C.-centric op-ed columnists wield their various points of view with a degree of confidence ...
Kevin Canfield of the Newark Journal News thinks that op-ed columnists are overrated blowhards (link via NRO's The Corner):
Kevin Canfield of the Newark Journal News thinks that op-ed columnists are overrated blowhards (link via NRO’s The Corner):
Op-ed columnists are the self-assured know-it-alls of the political media. Shrugging off impartiality and other journalistic creeds in favor of partisan swagger, D.C.-centric op-ed columnists wield their various points of view with a degree of confidence known only to true believers.
Oh, wait, I got that wrong — replace “op-ed columnist” with “blogger” and then you get Canfield’s lead paragraph. My point here is not (only) to pick on Canfield — the substance of his story is to discuss the limits of the blogosphere’s influence — but rather to re-emphasize a point I made when George Packer’s blog essay came out: “conduct a mental experiment — replace the word ‘blogosphere’ with ‘New York Times op-ed columnists’ or ‘David Broder. See if the criticism[s]… still hold up.” Also, it’s not like there aren’t theories out there explaining how blogs influence politics.
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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