Comments on: Are Blogs Now News Sources? Google Thinks So

By: mpb

mpb — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 21:34:27 +0000

I guess the experiment continues. By the way, these are the complete Google news alerts snippets.

Subject: Google Alert - kuskokwim flu

Comment on Are Blogs Now News Sources? Google Thinks So by mpb
Ok, we’ve come full circle. The latest Google news alert:. Subject: Google Alert -
kuskokwim flu. Are Blogs Now News Sources? Google Thinks So « Lorelle on WordPress
Subject: Google Alert - kuskokwim flu. KTLA The CW | Where Los Angeles …

Comments for Lorelle on WordPress

This as-it-happens Google Alert is brought to you by Google…

By: mpb

mpb — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 02:54:24 +0000

Sorry, Lorelle. Evidently we can’t edit our comments and the comment box doesn’t like pre-coded links. Please tidy as needed.

By: mpb

mpb — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 02:48:36 +0000

Ok, we’ve come full circle. The latest Google news alert:

Subject: Google Alert - kuskokwim flu

Are Blogs Now News Sources? Google Thinks So « Lorelle on WordPress
Subject: Google Alert - kuskokwim flu. KTLA The CW | Where Los Angeles
Lives | Alaska villagers living in … Alaska villagers living in bird
flu’s flight …

By: Lorelle on WordPress

Lorelle on WordPress — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 16:02:16 +0000

[...] Are Blogs Now News Sources? Google Thinks So [...]

By: Blog Battles Over Gallaudet University Presidents « Lorelle on WordPress

Blog Battles Over Gallaudet University Presidents « Lorelle on WordPress — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 08:10:45 +0000

[...] Are Blogs Now News Sources? Google Thinks So [...]

By: mpb

mpb — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 17:19:44 +0000

Effect Measure hot link
CDC recognizes the blogosphere

By: mpb

mpb — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 17:11:14 +0000

Here is more (not to beat a dead bird, but the promulgation of “news”, especially regarding public health, which is cr* is not to be poo-pooed). There are other issues re: mass media, public health, cultural stereotyping, etc. but the focus here is today’s Google news alert –

Subject: Google Alert - alaska bird flu

BIRD FLU ‘CANARIES’ IN ALASKA
Free Market News Network - Pompano Beach,FL,USA
… haven’t gotten tired of hearing about the coming threat of avian flu in America … story from the weekend, pointing at an isolated native tribe in Alaska who might …

This “Google news alert” leads to “news” which leads to “blog” about Alaska Natives being experimented upon by governmental doctors (using people as “canaries” for the bird flu) and hunters spreading the bird flu. [the original is still the peculiar LA Times/ KTLA news story]

We don’t need yet another “government medical experiment on natives” as either Googled “news” or as “blog revelation”.

We could use more revelations about dangerous federal, state, local, tribal, academic ineptitude via blogs (http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/) or in-depth news reporting. These should be alerted by Google– Google News and Google Blog Search, separately.

When Google (trusted mega-corp.) moves items from the loonie bins into “news”, the effects are not trivial.

By: Andrew Terry

Andrew Terry — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 12:58:14 +0000

Why shouldn’t blogs be “news sources”? The news about Google’s acquisition of YouTube was broken by Mike Arrington at TechCrunch; OK, that story still went to the WSJ (I believe) for verification before being hailed as “true”, but the next Big News Story from TechCrunch probably won’t need verifying by a mainstream media source, because TechCrunch’s “trustworthiness” as a news source has been established. The difficulty, because of the sheer number of blogs, is finding a signal inside the noise…

By: frenchy!

frenchy! — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 08:34:08 +0000

There is (or should be) a difference between journalism and blogs as news sources. News from most traditional media sources have an established set of values for integrity, reliability, etc.
Blog-journo’s still have to “prove” their quality before being taken serious as news sources.
(And yes, you can debate about the quality of certain traditional news outlets, the Enquirer example is obvious, but it really is an established set - you know what you’re getting ;))
Pay-per-post and other marketing related instruments are starting to have their impact on blogs, but these things apply for “normal” journalism too (chequebook journalism).
I guess it’s a matter of time before more and more blog-journo’s start counting as reliable news sources, but we’ll have to let the process of scrutiny and evaluation run its course.

By: mpb

mpb — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 03:48:50 +0000

Speak of the …

Here is an excellent example of why including blogs isn’t good for those of us looking for breaking news; to monitor emerging public health issues; to identify public perceptions for risk communication; [the feds will not report the bird test results back to us directly. If it weren't for news coverage elsewhere we wouldn't know for weeks.] etc.

The first below is to a new news story (which I had picked up via my morning LA Times Email sub the day before). The second, which seems to indicate another story or source of info, is actually the entire first story inserted (stolen) into the personal blog. I did find it very useful earlier this year to rely on Google news alerts just to see how widespread our little birds were becoming known (The Birds!) (Google news proxy measure — H5N1 public involvement)
====================================
Subject: Google Alert - kuskokwim flu

KTLA The CW | Where Los Angeles Lives | Alaska villagers living in …
Alaska villagers living in bird flu’s flight path … The flatland that
spreads out between the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers is so riddled with lakes
and …

Inolesco: growth of the avian flu
One of the countries reporting no deaths from avian flu. … The flatland
that spreads out between the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers is so riddled with
lakes …