Obama says Blogs aren't a reliabel source of information

[Politicalboi]

Obama: Blogs Aren’t a Reliable Source of Information
Submitted by jmeasley on Sat, 03/07/2009 - 21:55.

In an interview with the New York Times, President Barack Obama said that his administration doesn’t read blogs, because they aren’t a reliable source of information. This is an odd and somewhat ungrateful thing for a man whose movement took him to the presidency in part, based on blogs to say.

Obama used the example of the economy to demonstrate why he thinks blogs are unreliable, “Part of the reason we don’t spend a lot of time looking at blogs is because if you haven’t looked at it very carefully, then you may be under the impression that somehow there’s a clean answer one way or another — well, you just nationalize all the banks, or you just leave them alone and they’ll be fine.”

Sadly, Obama is only echoing the conventional wisdom of many politicians, which is to lump all blogs together as unaccountable forums of misinformation. This is an unfair assumption because there are literally hundreds of great blogs out there who try to provide information and unique to their readers. Unfortunately, these outstanding bloggers are outnumbered 5-10 to 1 by blogs that exist for the writer to spout off their opinions in an unaccountable manner.



Candidates all want blogs because they help get the message to voters in a controlled way. Specifically, blogs target a younger tech savvy demographic that all candidates dream of reaching and energizing, the problem is that many elected officials, including Obama, are behind the curve. They don’t see the power of the Internet as a source for information. The statistics vary, but about 10% of all Americans get their news from the Internet. I would venture a guess that many of these people supported and donated to Obama. Blogs helped form the early backbone for his Internet fund raising.

Obama does have a valid point when it comes to reading blogs carefully. My personal background comes from political science, research, and editing. I make an effort, which is not always successful, to try and look for more information. Many writers, for various reasons, can’t or don’t make the effort to provide good information.

Bloggers have it tough, because the battle for readership is very competitive, and opinions often equal hits, but the president needs to understand that not all blogs and bloggers are created equally. Blogs are the number one reason why newspapers are dying, and politicians would be wise to understand and respect this form of media.


http://www.jabberwonk.com/flinker.cfm?cliid=9ic2q

[sandnsea]

1. "a lot of time looking at blogs"

I love how blogs are proving what he says to be true by misquoting and misinterpreting what he said.

:rofl:

[RoyGBiv]

5. Couldn't help but notice that ...

It's jaw-dropping irony, it is.

[FreakinDJ]

2. He's right

[Captain Hilts]

3. That is correct. nt

[Hutzpa]

4. Are you trying to find the answer

to his Presidency??? Is this the best question they could
come up with, with everything else thats going on????

Of course he did not blog or got his knowledge from blogging,
just goes to show how lame they are, they have no answer to
the mans prowess.

Fuckin plebs.

[Synicus Maximus]

6. Well duh

that goes without saying.

[firedupdem]

7. Boy, people never stop trying.

:eyes:

[jenmito]

8. Um, he uses the internet in an organized way. HIS site has room for comments. Why should he be

expected to go browsing through blogs???

[Mass]

9. He disses Obama, then makes exactly the same point O. makes?

That does not make a lot of sense.

[Occam Bandage]

10. ...

Obama says Blogs aren't a reliabel source of information
:rofl:

[PretzelWarrior]

11. this guy's wrong. Newspapers offering free online content and CRAIGS LIST

are the number 1 and 2 reasons newspapers aren't doing well. Bloggers come in a distant 3rd.

[vaberella]

12. It was also Bloggers that accused his wife of saying "whitey".

It was bloggers who started trouble unfortunately for DailyKos and almost made them illegitimate as a reliable source. It was also Bloggers spreading this and that about his sexuality, some love child, his family, and helping feed these damn birthers. So he has a valid position.

I don't think MSM is any more reliable but they can actually be taken to task with serious retribution, ie The Post, than any blogger could. So the writer is an idiot...end of story.

[anonymous171]

13. Good. I would hate the MSM to tie Obama to every post made on the blogs.

[Louis-Emmanuel]

14. Glen Greenwald is way more reliable than the NYT or Fox News

Judith Miller and co. Took us into Iraq.

[Exilednight]

15. If anyone says "I read it on a blog", I ask them "how long did it take you to write it"? n/t

[stklurker]

16. Blogs arent reliable

Been discussed already.. and I agree with the President on this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5204285

[Honeycombe8]

17. That's correct. If I believed blogs, I'd think Michele Obama is a white-hating activist,

and Obama is a terrorist and a muslim. But blogs are not reliable sources of information. In fact, just the opposite. (Except for DU, of course! Really.)

[WHAT]

18. I believe in product placement...

GO homeland security...

[backscatter712]

19. He's got a point.

Then again, the MSM isn't reliable anymore either.

You've got to take everything, be it blogs, newspapers or FAUX Noise with a huge grain of salt and do enough homework to be able to figure out for yourself what's bullshit and what isn't.

[jberryhill]

20. Well, if he read FreeRepublic, he'd realize he's not a natural born citizen /nt

[yourguide]

21. this blog isnt even a "reliabel" source for spelling. n/t

[salguine]

22. He's right. Blogs AREN'T a reliable source of information.

[depakid]

24. Depends on the blog

and the writers.

Right now, Obanma's listening to some folks with a very poor track record on the economy. Essentially- these jokers have gotten it wrong almost every time out.

Wouldn't one think the rational course would be to look to people who got it right- maybe read their blogs. rather than going along to get along with the same crowd that helped crash the economy to begin with?

[salguine]

23. He's right. Blogs AREN'T a reliable source of information.

[noamnety]

25. How's he feel about the New York Times?

Hope he sent his regards to Judith Miller. :)