There probably aren't going to be many posts on Zootennis that will cite New Yorker stories, but this one, by Nicholas Lemann, raises some very interesting issues about the rise of internet journalism, including blogs.
With the torrent of comments that have poured in lately, I've been thinking a lot about how to best handle them, and as you all certainly know, I have no way of verifying the identities of those commenting, nor am I able to determine what is fact and what is perception in these comments. Some good friends have begun to express reservations about what's going on with all these comments, and have warned me that the direction it is heading may drive away the valuable, reasonable readers, leaving only those who have a specific, personal agenda.
I have, from the start of Zootennis in January of 2005, refrained from gossip, innuendo and rumor; I confirm facts with sources before I publish and if I am voicing an opinion, I hope it is clearly understood to be that. I appreciate hearing from readers who know things I do not. The more information I'm exposed to, the better, as it will provide me knowledge that will lead to better reporting and writing. But ultimately, I need to take responsibility for what goes up on this site, and that means some comments will not get to the wider audience. I will read every one, but that is all I can promise.
If there is one part of the New Yorker article that resonated with me it was this:
Reporting—meaning the tradition by which a member of a distinct occupational category gets to cross the usual bounds of geography and class, to go where important things are happening, to ask powerful people blunt and impertinent questions, and to report back, reliably and in plain language, to a general audience—is a distinctive, fairly recent invention. It probably started in the United States, in the mid-nineteenth century, long after the Founders wrote the First Amendment. It has spread—and it continues to spread—around the world. It is a powerful social tool, because it provides citizens with an independent source of information about the state and other holders of power. It sounds obvious, but reporting requires reporters. They don’t have to be priests or gatekeepers or even paid professionals; they just have to go out and do the work.
I intend to keep going out and doing the work, and I appreciate any help you can give me.