You can’t have missed the story (indeed an earlier version of this post was on LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION®), in all its agony — its schlepped-out, melodramatic agony. I link to Glenn Reynolds because he’s a good aggregator here, but also because it’s interesting to see how he’s gotten caught up in this, too.
One weensy problem with the blogosphere: It’s so quick, so supple, so instantaneous, so plastic… that it is also reactive, and in its own way, reactionary. Its reactions have the tendency, from time to time, of pouring flames on fires, and painting parties and their antagonists into corners neither wants to be in. That’s what has happened to some extent with the DrudgeRetort story.
In contrast, Bob Cox of the Media Bloggers Association (MBA) demonstrates what a grownup blogger attitude could look like.
Yes, I am involved in these discussions, as general counsel of the Media Bloggers Association, and am not wholly objective. But I do believe that the overheated nature of the j’accuse crowd speaks for itself.
UPDATE:Â Oh my gosh!
Originally posted on Likelihood of Success.
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It’s actually a bit of a relief to see MBA counsel acting level-headed and reasonable. I haven’t been following this story closely, for a variety of reasons mostly involving having other things to do, but also because when I did look at it I thought, "OK, AP’s doing something kinda stupid they probably really can’t do, and other folks look to be screaming ‘Moe Larry the Cheese!’ about it."
(And anyone who gets that last reference gets my undying respect.)
I had a vague flicker of a ghost of an echo of a memory at that quote, but didn’t have to cudgel my brains too long, for Google is my friend!
Jan
JLBussey’s last blog post..Siberian Iris, “Lights of Paris”
Well, Niels Hayden’s sure a noxious fellow, isn’t he? Ah well. There are plenty of well-known bloggers associated with the MBA. They clearly don’t represent everybody any more than the National Organization of Women represents all women, but so what? Yeesh. That’s not what the non-profit is for, silly man.
That is Patrick Neilson Hayden and his wife Theresa’s blog. To say that they are left-wing is to put it mildly. He is a good SF editor, but that’s about all that I can say.
Plenty of well-known bloggers are members of the MBA? Can someone name one?
If you read Hayden’s post in full, its actually pretty convincing. Calling him "left wing" is not a factual rebuttal.
ahhhh….. from the MBA "membership" page:
so, Cox basically wants to sell insurance to bloggers. There isnt any list of blogger members of the MBA anywhere on his site, that I could find.
If you look on the left sidebar, the Media Bloggers Association badge is there. It’s been there, oh, about four years now I think.
Ron Coleman is also a member, and has acted as legal counsel more than once to defend bloggers from spurious lawsuits. I don’t have a membership list handy for you, but MBA’s also offered free legal counsel to individual bloggers in other cases. They were also responsible for getting bloggers into the Scooter Libby Trial–that’s how Dean’s World became one of those that blogged about it from the trial.
Robert’s also a hell of a nice guy, and I saw no reason at all to keep reading Hayden’s post after he smeared Cox as a racist (fuck you, Hayden) and compared it to people who made phony treaties with phony Indian representatives. That’s not a left-winger, that’s a hyper-partisan hate-smearing spittle-spewing lefty asshole. But, if you’d like to summarize what points he made that are pretty good feel free. Kos I expected to say nothing good, he has always shit on bloggers smaller than himself and so I was unsurprised at his juvenile attitude.
Anyway, I don’t have a membership list for you, but I know me and Ron can’t be the only members. I’m sure a lot of them are "right wing" and thus "racist" and whatever to the Haydens of the world. [shrug] But it’s a legitimate non-profit doing legitimate things to help bloggers. Plenty of legitimate non-profits do things like sell insurance and offer educational materials to help members.
Media Bloggers Association no more claims to represent all bloggers than the Anti-Defamation League claims to represent all Jews (and aren’t even liked by all Jews).
Dean, I am glad that you are a member, and I bear no personal ill will towrads Cox, but tell em exactly what he did to get bloggers into the Libby trial? Because as far as I remember that was entirely a Firedoglake scoop. What bloggers did Cox get into the trial, specifically? What did he do?
I dont understand why, if there are many other members, there isnt a list somewhere. Not even his members page?
Well, weren’t you here? Matt Sheffield of NewsBusters was blogging from the trial for us! Right on our front page! (Oh how quickly they forget.) Matt and DW were not the only ones. MBA even had a site set up with RSS feeds from numerous bloggers from numerous sides of the ideological issue, some directly associated with MBA and some not. It was being read daily by the judge in the trial, some of the legal teams, and quite a few people in places like the WH and Congress. %-)
I don’t know why no members’ list, there was one when I added the little badge. I can shoot them a note and ask if you’re really interested, but last I heard they were revamping membership requirements, which may have something to do with it. But honestly, this is no different from any other non-profit advocacy group. Nothing sinister or anything like that. Bob’s got a day job last I looked; he’s a reporter. ;-)
Read Bob’s updated post here. It addresses pretty much all the issues, I think. I am so tired from this, though. Believe me, this is really a case of no good deed going unpunished. What’s remarkable here is that the MBA tried to help out a left-wing blogger, as we have done many times in the past, but still got smeared for its efforts mostly from the leftosphere. Check out Cory Doctorow, too.
Ron Coleman’s last blog post..Attention counsel ? man your ambulances
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