New Jersey Through A Pinhole

In a speech Friday night Bill Keller, the executive editor of the NYT, provided his opinion on bloggers and the reason the public’s trust in journalists is at its lowest point in decades. Read the summary below, the entire article here.

Funny we thought bloggers and blog readers were among the largest consumers of news. Oh well just for fun - as you read this summary of Keller’s remarks, substitute any derivation of the word “blog” with the “New York Times” and make the same substitution with the word “public”. Any ring of truth? More of our attempt at humor here.

Bill Keller, executive editor of The New York Times, gave a speech this past Friday that focused on the struggle of print journalism to maintain its relevance in the face of constant cable news updates, increased blogging, and failures in credibility.

Keller noted that, according to a recent opinion poll, the public’s trust in journalists is at its lowest point in decades. He attributed this in part to the increasingly polarized nature of the American public, who look to the press for support of their viewpoints.

Keller also sees “blogging,” or online writing that blurs news and commentary, as a mixed blessing. While he celebrated the blogger’s ability to uncover breaking news, he noted that a blog’s inherent bias might be detrimental to the reader. “A blog is still a view of the world through a pinhole,” he said, noting that it can sometimes fall as low as being a “one man circle jerk.”

“There is a pressure to feel well informed without ever confronting an opinion that confronts your prejudices,” he said of blog readers.