Whenever I hear people spouting off about how blogs are the "new media" which will someday replace the "old media", especially newspapers, I cringe. Blogs can compliment the "old media." They can serve as watchdogs, checking the accuracy and pointing out bias. They can present alternative viewpoints which would otherwise never see the light of day. And, as we've learned once again with the Swift Vets, they can push a story that the "old media" is ignoring, keeping it alive long enough to force the "old media" to acknowledge it. But, the idea that blogs will take the place of newspapers anytime in the foreseeable future is ludicrous.
Look no further than the Star Tribune's series on Outsourcing, which began Sunday. We like to bang on the Strib on a regular basis, but we also like to give credit where it's due. And it is definitely due here. The first two days of the series have been excellent, and I look forward to the rest of it.
We're talking about some in-depth analysis and reporting here. Reporter Eric Black has already written about traveling to Shanghai, Beijing, and other cities in China for the series, and I would bet dollars to donuts that he went to India, and possibly other countries as well. While there are many bloggers who could write authoritatively about outsourcing, how many of them have the time, the money, and the inclination to do as Black has done?
If you're interested in outsourcing I urge you to read the whole Strib series. So far, it's an excellent example of what newspapers can do very well. And it's also been quite fair. The verdict after two days is that, overall, outsourcing is positive for the United States economy.
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