There appears to be some changes coming to one the best blogs out there, the Daily Howler. If it is undertaken because of a perceived lack of influence or a tone too 'shrill' then I believe it to be a mistake. From an article in CJR:
..Somerby cannot seem to decide whether he matters. In the blogosphere, he probably does. In October, the Howler was ranked 115 out of 15,788 Weblogs being tracked by The Truth Laid Bear, a Web site that gauges a blog’s stature by how often other sites provide links to it.
But does Somerby — or any blogger — influence newsrooms?
Scott Kraft, national editor of the Los Angeles Times, doesn’t read the Howler. “You know,” Kraft says, “there is so much noise on the Internet that I just don’t have the time to tune into everything.” He is hardly the only prominent member of the profession to confess that the Howler is not on the radar. Wilgoren says her editors at The New York Times have never mentioned Somerby or anything he wrote about her coverage.
“I don’t think he’s having a tremendous impact,” says a Somerby friend, Gene Lyons, the Arkansas political columnist, co-author of The Hunting of the President and author of Fools for Scandal. “For one thing, he never runs out of targets.”
So much noise on the internet?... good god, that is a pathetic excuse for ignoring the best media critic out there. It does not take a genius to sort out the crap from the relevant. Put together a half decent blog roll that includes Somerby, read it daily and you're set.
And really it's truly a shame that the NY Times editors don't read the Howler. They would learn so much. I certainly check out the Howler before clicking on the Times website. And Times reporters really should do the same.
Somerby is needed. While his critiques can be offensive to those he attacks and his tone a little harsh, the work he produces is invaluable. His blog is the first one I check, before Atrios, before TPM and before the Daily Kos. He is so very right when he says.
“And increasingly, I think they (mainstream journalists) just have to be yelled at,"...
In terms of being off the radar of these mainstream journalists; that is precisely why he should continue. Direct and stinging critiques such as his have got to get on the radar if change is going to occur and neither toning down the diatribes nor radically changing the focus are likely to accomplish this. Blogs will continue to grow and influence mainstream journalism and Somerby is one of the blogosphere's most respected and influential elders whose presence would be sorely missed. If the so-called journalists would only treat their craft as seriously as he does we would all be so much better informed.
Somerby matters.
(of course if any changes to his blog are a result of personal financial considerations, then nothing can be said against this. We all gotta live)
Comments