Thinking Fairly Deeply About the Bloggers vs. Journalists question

Posted by Amy Gahran 11:11:25 AM
Media Elitism, Good and Bad
Stewart
Comedy Central
Jon Stewart: A good example of "beneficial elitism," according to USAtoday.com's Beau Dure.
Not surprisingly, Roy Peter Clark's Jan. 31 column, The Public Bias Against the Press, stirred up a lot of strong feelings and conversation -- both in the comments and on Poynter's Online-News discussion list.

Before this conversation moves on completely, I'd like to highlight (with permission) some remarks that USAtoday.com's Beau Dure shared in a post to Online-News.

Dure wrote:

"I like Roy's dichotomy of skepticism and cynicism, having read the excellent book on the subject. I don't like the dichotomy of bloggers and journalists, who should indeed be symbiotic and, in many cases, describe the same people.

"I prefer to think in terms of beneficial elitism and harmful elitism. Bloggers and journalists practice both -- but we need a lot more of the former.

"Beneficial elitism is the notion that we can all handle the truth and make educated decisions. Its enemy is the ersatz populism so often practiced by politicians who prey on Americans' anti-intellectualism. ...Jon Stewart is practicing beneficial elitism. If only more people would follow his lead.

"Harmful Elitism is loosely akin to cynicism. It's the assumption of someone else's inferiority, leading to a premature dismissal of what that person is saying or doing.

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"Yes, many journalists fall into the trap of harmful elitism. We're especially prone to urban elitism, treating everything south and west of th Potomac River as a giant anthropology experiment. We tend to look at, say, Iowa voters as lab rats rather than human beings capable of making the same decisions we do. Some reporters' contempt for the local bodies they cover is evident in their stories. Some journalists are far too dismissive of legitimate criticism.

"But here's the thing: Bloggers are just as susceptible to harmful elitism. Particularly those who are educated in a particular field and assume their education carries over to ALL fields. That's why, say, we might see an arrogant political blog written by a lawyer.

"...On [the Online-News] list, as in all forums, we sometimes fall into the trap of harmful elitism. We assume others 'don't get it.' 'Oh, that Roy Peter Clark guy? Yeah, he's just a newspaper guy. I don't have to listen to him.' We're prone to offering up easy answers for newspapers' ills, conveniently forgetting how wrong this list's conventional wisdom has been in the past.

"Whether or not you like my proposed harmful / beneficial dichotomy, I think it helps to look at things through new frames. The 'blogger vs. journalist' meme didn't die despite Jay Rosen's best efforts, but at least we can step outside it every once in a while. 'Liberal vs. conservative' is utterly meaningless, given the fluidity of the terms. Even 'old school vs. new school' isn't particularly helpful. If we weren't a little bit of both, why would we be on this list?"