Lead by Example, MSN ...

I hear that the leaders of the media think bloggers should be seen and not heard. Certainly not read, heaven forfend! I very much doubt they are worried about me and my five readers (hi, guys!), but they probably are worried about how nobody seems to want to pay them money any more. And here they are, the only guardians of the Fountain of Truth, but the common herd do stupid things like, like vote for Bush! And watch Fox! But what really hurts is these hoi polloi read blogs. And the big blogs like Instapundit, Power Line, Captain's Quarters ... they contradict what the media says. They even back it up with verifiable facts, links to the original data so you can DECIDE FOR YOURSELF if their analysis is correct. Sometimes they let you, ordinary you, leave comments. I can guarantee you have a better chance of seeing your blog comment out for the whole world to see than if you write a letter to the editor of a newspaper. Especially if you a) disagree with said editor and b) are NOT a raving lunatic.

So what is it that they say they object to in bloggers? Lack of accountability? Please submit verifiable accounts of how Eason Jordan of CNN was held accountable for lying about Iraq under Saddam to preserve CNN's access. Lack of training? (At least lack of journalism training.) Judging from the blogs I read, maybe that's a good thing. They are written better. They don't cover subject x? Well, how often is the media covering, say, Afghanistan? You remember, place we still have troops? The place that had a successful election not too long ago? Is this godlike media covering the car bomb attacks in Iraq that don't kill anybody, because the Iraqis are getting pretty damn good about stopping them before they do? Besides, blogs don't have to cover everything. All they really have to do is point out glaring errors, omissions, and outright bias in the media. If they just do that, it takes all day.

And now we hear that the FEC is thinking of putting blogs under political election restrictions. Gee. I wonder who gave them that idea. Why not show us how it's done, Media? Be accountable. Tell the truth, the whole truth and not just the bits that support what you want to believe. In short, act the way you want us bloggers to behave. Dare you.