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Weblogs: A More Democratic Medium
Blogger Alex Knapp perpetuates the tradition of the town meeting in his HereticalIdeas.com. Knapp says he's carrying the free-speech torch. But some content that bloggers such as Knapp are just blowhards with bullhorns---self-appointed pundits without "any greater understanding of issue X than anyone else," in the words of Slate columnist Rob Walker.

by Diana Espinosa

In Your Face and With No Shame:
Alex Knapp's weblog, Heretical Ideas.com
Photo courtesy of Alex Knapp

The Constitution allows Americans to voice their opinions, thanks to the First Amendment. Some individuals exercise their freedom of speech more actively than others, obviously, and Alex Knapp is one of these people. Knapp, a second-year law student at the University of Kansas, was tired of not being able to voice his opinion in the media on important issues that affect his life, so he created the weblog, Heretical Ideas.com. Weblogs are often-updated sites that point to articles on the web, often with comments on current events.

"Writing my weblog is probably my primary way of wrestling with issues," he says. "In order to comment about the news, or about an opinion, you have to dig deep and grapple with it." In his blog, Knapp discusses politics, news, books, movies, and television shows. He refuses to accept what he perceives to be government bias news and he feels the media creates a vision of the perfect government in regards to such things as the current administration's foreign policy.

He uses Heretical Ideas as a megaphone to create rants such as the one that begins, "In a bold move of statesmanship, Congress has passed a bill that makes it way harder to gamble online. Well, that'll show 'em! I'm glad that in a time when Congress is facing a huge budget deficit, pondering difficult issues of domestic security and law enforcement and the most important foreign policy issues of our time, it's capable of getting its act together in making sure that the scourge of Internet gambling be taken down."

Knapp also uses his blog to discuss the little things that make him happy: "British researchers are working on an ironing robot, which could press and fold clothes by itself. Unfortunately for me, [it] won't be out 'til 2006, so I'm going to have to stick with my very sub-par ironing until then..."

But, with every opinion they spout, bloggers such as Knapp often stir up a counter-opinion, which usually inspires another opinion, and so on. Knapp feels that democracy is founded on the notion that "citizens debate and have opinions on the governmental policies and issues of the day; weblogs provide an accessible forum for that to happen." Most bloggers feel they are providing a worldwide forum to the public.

But some media critics, such as Slate columnist Rob Walker who writes for Money magazine contend that much blogging is little more than uninformed opinion mongering.

"A lot of bloggers just offer their take on whatever's the news of the minute," says Walker, "without really having any greater understanding of issue X than anyone else who pays attention to the news." Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, he acknowledges, but too many opinions could crowd out the validity of informed commentary, leading people to lose interest in the news. Walker feels that despite what some bloggers say, journalists are still an asset to the community because they provide this invaluable service.

Nonetheless, journalists such as Jeremy Wagstaff feel that bloggers are providing a positive aspect to journalism. Wagstaff, a technology columnist for the Wall Street Journal, agrees that weblogging enables users to comment on current affairs, providing a public forum for debate, a development that serves both bloggers and journalists. Blogging puts journalists in closer contact with their readers, says Wagstaff. Thus empowered, readers question, challenge, and otherwise interact with the journalist, he asserts, forcing "the journalist to tailor his/her approach and style" to the debate style found on many blogs.

Flash:Blogging Goes Corporate

More Of Rob Walker's Views on Blogging

Are people using the Net to create their own new media?

Jerermy Wagstaff's Blog
Diana Espinosa is a senior a New York University with a major in journalism and a minor in Spanish.

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