31 replies to this topic

[Sparky]

OK It is April 24 2013....there is a lot at play here.

Is it appropriate to accept the information that we receive from the main stream media (typically from paid print and visual media) or do we listen to the online alternate views from bloggers and readers/posters?

You decide.

Personally I am headed to Seattle (April 25) to listen to a guitar player, Sixto Rodriguez that was successful at instilling the thought of equality and freedom. He had no idea that the words he was singing would have a profound affect on a country half the way around the word.

The abolishment of apartheid was due in part from this musician and the words of his songs.

That to me is a social media that attempts to change the way we appreciate each other and accept each others right to a place on this planet.

What Sixto tried to do in the middle of the last century....could be what the bloggers are trying to do now.

guitar....keyboard.....whatever...

Listen, question, appreciate, challenge......but never disapprove unknowingly.

It's a force......it's a force that can be heard only by true words.

[Bingo]

Well said Sparky.

We do get caught up speaking without consideration sometimes, in our search for what is important to us as individuals, and as a collective.

"Searching for Sugarman" was one of the most inspirational movies I have seen. I would get goosebumps thinking of being in the same room with Rodriguez.

[pherthyl]

OK let's get back to the TC topic. You guys can't even spell his last name.

Talking about spelling, that would be "role in social media"...

as for your question:

"do we listen to the online alternate views from bloggers and readers/posters?"

It's a strawman and was never the topic of the previous thread. The claim was that bloggers were a replacement for traditional news media, which they pretty clearly aren't because they approach the task of reporting completely differently. On the one hand bloggers have more freedom to write about things that don't fit the traditional media format, while on the other hand they are not bound by a code of ethics in journalism so they tend to have more of an overt bias.
Bloggers are a supplement, and a valuable one, but not a replacement.

[Sparky]

^ and ^^ Well said.

[Sparky]

^^^ Bingo, I was on an aircraft watching the documentary on my laptop when the stewardess approached me and asked me if I was alright.

It wasn't until then that I realized that the tears were running down my cheeks.

[Mike K.]

On the one hand bloggers have more freedom to write about things that don't fit the traditional media format, while on the other hand they are not bound by a code of ethics in journalism so they tend to have more of an overt bias.
Bloggers are a supplement, and a valuable one, but not a replacement.

Your work painstakingly detailing the nature of the real-estate market in Victoria exposes the extreme chasm between resources like the House Hunt blog and our local media's real-estate reports based so often off of press releases issued by the VREB and real-estate financiers.

I would beg to differ about House Hunt being merely a supplement to the TC or CTV. To the blog's followers and supporters, House Hunt is the only reliable source for information on Victoria's real-estate market and these folks are ready to defend their position. In other words, if local media chose to never run another real-estate headline House Hunt's most dedicated followers would hardly feel a void.

As for Tsakumis, he may not be gentle nor is he always polite, but he is real. He tells it like he sees it and doesn't hide behind a pseudonym or a code of ethics that is called upon by the MSM only when convenient. And as a Liberal supporter, whom many of Tsukamis' readers are, his insights and opinions are a much appreciated breath of fresh air.

But talking about this code of ethics, how many Victoria reporters are no longer employed by local publications as a result of disagreements with advertisers? I can think of several who were let go in recent years due to questionable circumstances.

[spanky123]

But talking about this code of ethics, how many Victoria reporters are no longer employed by local publications as a result of disagreements with advertisers? I can think of several who were let go in recent years due to questionable circumstances.

I am sure if Alex started blogging about the NDP is a negative light then they would pull his funding and he would be unemployed as well!

[Mike K.]

Is the NDP's funding of Tsakumis' blog rumour or fact?

[Sparky]

I am sure if Alex started blogging about the NDP is a negative light then they would pull his funding and he would be unemployed as well!

These quotes are from http://alexgtsakumis...-virk-bloggers/

[...]

"So, the blogs that are covering all of this not-particularly-intriguing hearsay and misinformation are almost all driven by one thing and one only: They want an NDP government and they want one now–and devil may care if they have to throw as much ******** up as necessary, they will prevail and we’ll all be better off. That’s their silent, but glaringly obvious (shameless) mantra.

Well, that’s lovely, but when they run their business like a gossip rag, they should NOT be asking IDIOTIC questions, all be they rhetorical, as to why the source close the prosecution that provided me with the Basi memos and other related documents released them to me and not the NDP–or less obvious but more comically, why any of those bloggers weren’t approached by my source."

"The BC NDP were complete fools to get rid of Carole James the way they did and for the lies the gang that did it told (they are likely to elect Mike Farnworth, a super guy, who is even more moderate than Carole James and will highly likely be B.C.’s next elected Premier)."

"Though one thing’s for sure, Robin: I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, that there is as much chance of you or the other pro-NDP gossip queens in the blogosphere getting any traction on the Basi memos or the remains of the trial, as a blind pig discovering an acorn."

[pherthyl]

I would beg to differ about House Hunt being merely a supplement to the TC or CTV. To the blog's followers and supporters, House Hunt is the only reliable source for information on Victoria's real-estate market and these folks are ready to defend their position. In other words, if local media chose to never run another real-estate headline House Hunt's most dedicated followers would hardly feel a void.

I sure hope people aren't treating HHV as their sole source of housing news...
People might not mind if the TC never published another housing story because the TC pretty much only parrots VREB press releases. However judging by how many comments link to housing stories in the mainstream media, people certainly would miss it if those stories didn't exist.

But talking about this code of ethics, how many Victoria reporters are no longer employed by local publications as a result of disagreements with advertisers? I can think of several who were let go in recent years due to questionable circumstances.

Direct result from people no longer paying for their news. News organizations cannot be impartial when they are funded primarily by advertising. Although i think they still do pretty well overall compared to blogs.

[spanky123]

Is the NDP's funding of Tsakumis' blog rumour or fact?

I was being sarcastic

The point I was making is that when you build your entire site on bashing one person and one party then what happens when they are no longer around to bash? If Alex decides to start taking on the NDP then he will need a whole new following. My guess is that he winds up with a cushy communications or OIC role with the NDP if they are elected.

[spanky123]

These quotes are from http://alexgtsakumis...-virk-bloggers/

"Though one thing’s for sure, Robin: I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, that there is as much chance of you or the other pro-NDP gossip queens in the blogosphere getting any traction on the Basi memos or the remains of the trial, as a blind pig discovering an acorn."

He needs to read his own blog. My favorite comments in your link are the ones about him only posting fact and not gossip and that he is the most read blogger in the country.

http://www.alexa.com...om#trafficstats

[Sparky]

I was being sarcastic

Good one. You sucked Mike and I in on that.

My mother used to say anything in moderation can be good for you.

Too much milk could kill you. I think you could be bang on.

[arfenarf]

I am actually grateful that Tsakumis and I differ on some very basic issues like climate change. It means that while I agree with his basic stance on this government and their malfeasance, I'm in no danger of listening to a voice simply because I agree with it. I wish he stuck with the strong investigative approach and did less name-calling ("Crusty?" Really? That kind of juvenile stuff strengthens your position?)

The whole BC Rail thing reeks and I want it blown sky-high.

[Mike K.]

People might not mind if the TC never published another housing story because the TC pretty much only parrots VREB press releases. However judging by how many comments link to housing stories in the mainstream media, people certainly would miss it if those stories didn't exist.

C'mon, the references are posted mostly for entertainment purposes and serve to underline the MSM's fear of alienating major advertisers.

Direct result from people no longer paying for their news. News organizations cannot be impartial when they are funded primarily by advertising.

Reporters finding themselves out of work due to advertiser discontent far predates the move from print to digital publishing. However, if publishers are becoming even more concerned about advertiser sentiment due to declining advertising revenues it only further confirms suspicions of the MSM's primary interests, codes of conduct or not.

I was being sarcastic

The point I was making is that when you build your entire site on bashing one person and one party then what happens when they are no longer around to bash? If Alex decides to start taking on the NDP then he will need a whole new following. My guess is that he winds up with a cushy communications or OIC role with the NDP if they are elected.

Ah, gotcha. Interesting times ahead for his blog pre and post election. I too am curious who he'll focus on if Clark joins the ranks of past premiers.

[pherthyl]

C'mon, the references are posted mostly for entertainment purposes and serve to underline the MSM's fear of alienating major advertisers.

Reporters finding themselves out of work due to advertiser discontent far predates the move from print to digital publishing. However, if publishers are becoming even more concerned about advertiser sentiment due to declining advertising revenues it only further confirms suspicions of the MSM's primary interests, codes of conduct or not.

I think this is taking a very cynical view of the situation. Yes sometimes there are conflicts of interest with advertisers. Sometimes that means stories are cut or not examined critically. However overall I think the level of professionalism is still much higher in the average journalist than the average blogger.

It also comes down to money, and that's no different in the blog world. If people are blogging in their free time, then money has less influence, but any full time bloggers are just as susceptible to bias from their funding sources as any paper. I find that readers of blogs are often far too willing to ignore where the money is coming from and give bloggers a free pass in that respect.

Who pays the bills for Alex Tsakumis's blogging?

[Sparky]

^ Alex.

[Holden West]

A modest little joke in a Parksville high school yearbook ends up being seen by over a million people all over the world.

“Kind of scary how fast this spread,” Megan says. “Sure glad I had a good yearbook picture.”

Megan shared her quote on her Tumblr website. Faster than a Golden Snitch, it garnered 100,000 “likes” before friends started sharing it elsewhere, including the digital bulletin board Reddit, where readers voted it into the No. 8 spot on the site’s worldwide “hot” list.

http://www.timescolo...-world-1.320117

Funny, and frightening in a way.

[VicHockeyFan]

A modest little joke in a Parksville high school yearbook ends up being seen by over a million people all over the world.



http://www.timescolo...-world-1.320117

Funny, and frightening in a way.

I'm not sure what's scary about it. A friend of mine was telling me that her little sister's grad ceremony allowed the students to all write a little blurb about themselves, to be read as they walked on stage towards receiving their diploma.

One student wrote something along the lines of "...this future Real Housewives of Vancouver star..." I thought that was funny.

[Holden West]

^Scary in that today, any offhand comment, photo or video can go viral. An inside joke that previously would have been seen and of interest to your inner circle of friends can potentially become a global phenomenon in a matter of hours.