I’m not sure about that. I think I’ve seen plenty of insults hurled around, though I think it is far worse when attacks are made on those who cannot reply.

On your journalists vs specialist bloggers point, there are pros and cons on both sides. Usually when people go off their own subject the risks are higher, as they cannot make a proper evaluation. It is usually general columists who do that. There is also variability in each author, too – Johan Hari is excellent for “this was my experience” pieces, but as soon as he cites scientific papers it needs *very* careful fact checking. I include myself here. If I’m trying to write about biology you know to watch it.

Pop-psychology pieces about bloggers and twitterers is a classic example. It comes down to reading who you trust to be reliable, both in the big media and on blogs; there are plenty of fruitcakes everywhere.

May I quote a comment made on ConHome yesterday?

“I think that much newspaper content is no better than blog content, and that our big media sites have fallen prey to the need for speed over quality. Consider the recent Baltimore mess – half a dozen big sites were simply lazy.

If news is a commodity and cannot be charged for without a special delivery mechanism (e.g., in advance) or something else to add value, then it is back to “deals” and sidelines, such as the Spectator Wine Club, and higher quality commentary/analysis,

But the most reliable and thoughtful of the blog commentators – the specialists who stick to their knitting and help us *think* by supplying distinctive insight – are as good as the specialists in newspapers, while the newspaper generalists get things factually wrong often enough to undermine their value. As an example of a quality specialist blogger I’d suggest Head of Legal.

The problem then becomes one of selection to find the free commentators you can rely on in each niche, as suggested above. “

I remembered that the moment I put my foot in my mouth

The MSM are just court gossips, part of the new aristocracy. They cannot be expected to oppose that which gives them their very livelihood and social status, and adds meaning to their empty, shallow existences.

I hate this attitude. Really. Hate, hate, hate. This is now a hate posting.

The argument that people “have only themselves to blame” perniciously accepts the idea that the State has some right to regulate speech. “Here, have some free speech, but if you use it we’ll take it away”. Enforced politeness is a powerful means of curbing speech and is frequently used by progressives. What is appalling is when others shrug and say, “oh well, it’s the fault of all those people who said rude things, they should have behaved themselves”.

Back in the days when the press was genuinely indepedent- before it was considered an “institution” and part of the ruling class, the language against powerful figures was hugely intemperate. Unpopular politicians were frequently shown in cartoons devouring babies, something that would be ooooh, bad taste, we’d better ban that, these days. It was free speech. Free speech is frequently intemperate, because people tend to get a bit noisy when they’re angry. People are very angry at the moment.

Or, did you know why Britain introduced theatre censorship, “everything must be passed by the Lord Chamberlain”? Robert Walpole, the first “prime” minister, was getting a lot of stick on the London stage, with extremely rude plays which, being before Victorian Values and the invention of modern enforced politeness, were often extremely ribald. So, the nasty git introduced censorship.

Same thing, over and over again. Until we stop blaming the victims, “it’s their own fault, they were asking for it”, we are going to keep suffering censorship. If freedom of speech is not absolute, it does not exist at all. Needless to say, therefore in Britain it does not exist at all.

Anna, niche blogs do indeed contribute a lot and I wish more people knew that they even existed. The MSM controls a lot more of the public’s attention than blogs do and, while this balance has shifted in favour of the blogs, I very much doubt that the public at large know how much good writing is available to them.

And there is no place in newspapers or blogs for anyone saying ‘knickers’ to Gordon Brown.

Iain is the publsiher.

Bloggers with a niche interest have so much to offer, so much more to contribute than just the ability to say ‘knickers’ ( and worse!) to Gordon Brown at hourly intervals.

I am hosting a piece on assisted suicide today – something that would never have been published in the MSM, written by someone who really knows what they are talking about.

I have learnt more in the last five years by following niche blogs than I ever did in the – ahem – *cough* years before…..