July 20, 2009
“The internet, with it’s great unsorted jumble of facts lies and misreporting, is in many ways like the underground press, and the advent of personal blogs means that everyone can now publish their own paper”  15Barry Miles, founder of the International Times and former member of the Underground Press Syndicate believes that internet self publishing is the natural progression for protest and alternative social voice, however, Geert Lovink would disagree, stating that, “Blogging is a nihilistic venture because the ownership structure of mass media is questioned and attacked - without providing an answer to the looming crisis.” 16 Lovink argues that personal blogging is undermining relevant forms of media with its focus on inane personal details and “hastily written personal musings, sculptured around a link or event.” 17 The structure of a blog means that there will always be a certain degree of an individual’s personality and opinion relayed in the communication of news, and they are therefore, not an objective sorce.I would not consider the act of blogging to be nihilistic or undermining of traditional media avenues, because the personal voice associated with blogging is not yet universally trusted. As long as it is not acceptable to use Wikkipedia as a reference, a personally written blog cannot hold the same conviction as published news. Perhaps we feel this way because traditional news reporters are paid to tell us the news, whereas bloggers are free to say whatever they want because the possibility of a public audience is not assured. In which case, we can consider that a more successful blog has more of a social responsibility. If Lovink is referring to the decline in newspaper sales and television news audiences, I would argue that online news websites are doing a better job of obliterating traditional news media because the same information, written by the same people can be accessed for free. The immediacy of the social media must also be responsible for this change in the way news is delivered, if Twitter updates are available in real time, users will already know the news so why should they buy a paper to read it? 15 Miles, Barry, Notes from Underground, cited in: Biizot, Jean-Francois, 200 Trips from the Counterculture: Graphics and Stories from the Underground Press Syndicate, p.715 Lovink, Geert, Nihilism and the News: Blogging as a mental condition, cited in: Seijdel, Jorinde, The Rise of the Informal Media, p. 4416 Lovink, Geert, Nihilism and the News: Blogging as a mental condition, cited in: Seijdel, Jorinde, The Rise of the Informal Media, p. 40

“The internet, with it’s great unsorted jumble of facts lies and misreporting, is in many ways like the underground press, and the advent of personal blogs means that everyone can now publish their own paper”  15
Barry Miles, founder of the International Times and former member of the Underground Press Syndicate believes that internet self publishing is the natural progression for protest and alternative social voice, however, Geert Lovink would disagree, stating that, “Blogging is a nihilistic venture because the ownership structure of mass media is questioned and attacked - without providing an answer to the looming crisis.” 16 Lovink argues that personal blogging is undermining relevant forms of media with its focus on inane personal details and “hastily written personal musings, sculptured around a link or event.” 17 The structure of a blog means that there will always be a certain degree of an individual’s personality and opinion relayed in the communication of news, and they are therefore, not an objective sorce.
I would not consider the act of blogging to be nihilistic or undermining of traditional media avenues, because the personal voice associated with blogging is not yet universally trusted. As long as it is not acceptable to use Wikkipedia as a reference, a personally written blog cannot hold the same conviction as published news. Perhaps we feel this way because traditional news reporters are paid to tell us the news, whereas bloggers are free to say whatever they want because the possibility of a public audience is not assured. In which case, we can consider that a more successful blog has more of a social responsibility. If Lovink is referring to the decline in newspaper sales and television news audiences, I would argue that online news websites are doing a better job of obliterating traditional news media because the same information, written by the same people can be accessed for free. The immediacy of the social media must also be responsible for this change in the way news is delivered, if Twitter updates are available in real time, users will already know the news so why should they buy a paper to read it?

15 Miles, Barry, Notes from Underground, cited in: Biizot, Jean-Francois, 200 Trips from the Counterculture: Graphics and Stories from the Underground Press Syndicate, p.7
15 Lovink, Geert, Nihilism and the News: Blogging as a mental condition, cited in: Seijdel, Jorinde, The Rise of the Informal Media, p. 44
16 Lovink, Geert, Nihilism and the News: Blogging as a mental condition, cited in: Seijdel, Jorinde, The Rise of the Informal Media, p. 40