File this under articles I wished I had written.
"Then as now, professional intermediaries -- be they priests or editors -- complain that morlocks in pajamas couldn't be trusted to get 'the story' right. And, then as now, morlocks in pajamas apply their intelligence and life experiences to undermine the authority of the intermediary class. When Martin Luther posted his blog on the Wittenberg door, he fact-checked Catholic theology against the text of scripture. He proved to the satisfaction of many that the typeface of the Purgatory doctrine was suspect, and that the kerning of faith vs. works was clearly a product of PopeSoft 1500's default settings.
"It just goes to show: when assessing the truth of anything, you must be sure to check the Kern of it.
"During Rathergate and Purgatorygate, the MSM excommunicated the heretics for the crime of out-interpreting the interpreters. The blogosphere accomplished more check-the-facts, feet-on-the-ground, hit-the-books journalism during Rathergate than did any other media outlet. The CBS definition of fact-checking consisted of 1) the ambiguous assessments of four ludicrously under-qualified 'experts;' 2) the assurances of two dishonest partisan nutballs, and 3) the journalistic instincts of one doddering news anchor whose world view is locked in his own private Groundhog Day, circa 1974. By contrast, the blogosphere consulted hordes of typeface experts, former Texas National Guard clerks, and professional document assessors in a matter of hours. Similarly, the first Protestants invoked the authority of scripture itself in refuting Roman theology -- disdaining the tortuous logic and unproven facts of the symbol-wielding class in favor of direct interpretation of the truth. Then as now, God helped those who helped themselves."
I wonder if someday someone will submit a document called MSM and Bloggers Together.
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