A glimpse of the future: Pajamas Media

[Mycroft]

http://pajamasmedia.com/about.php

The blogosphere is fundamentally changing the relationship between media and consumer. It used to be the communication was almost purely one-way with a small handful of editors and other media gatekeepers deciding for everyone what was important to see and what interpretation to take. Now, in a day when almost anyone can put their ideas out for anyone in the world to see, we can see instantaneous viewer response to what the major media feeds us, and that response can be anything from criticism to fact-checking.

And soon the internet will change in a fundamental way how news will be created.


ABOUT US

Pajamas Media had its beginnings in 2004, when co-founders Charles Johnson and Roger L. Simon experienced first-hand two events that marked the growing influence of blogs on society: a blog-driven investigation into the United Nations Oil for Food scandal and another into the falsified military records cited by CBS News in coverage of President George W. Bush.

From those and other blogging experiences, Roger and Charles knew there was enough expertise and investigative ability among bloggers nationally and globally to out-report the mainstream media on turf they had long controlled. The two Los Angeles co-founders were already friends via their blogs, Little Green Footballs and Roger L. Simon. So, as they talked to other participants in the ever-expanding blogosphere, an idea began to take shape.

Roger, a well-known novelist and screenwriter, and Charles, a successful musician and software designer, realized that by aggregating weblogs together into a new media form, blogs could become a force to be reckoned with in the 21st Century. To pursue their vision, they sought out the advice and involvement of several widely respected top bloggers, and soon a plan emerged.

After spending several months developing a model to support a dramatic new publishing medium, they announced in the summer of 2005 that their venture was a go. Their plan will provide an online place where readers and thoughtful bloggers can come together to be informed, to explore issues of the day, and to have fun. Key details of the plan are still under wraps. For now, the co-founders will say only that there will be a significant unveiling in the fall of 2005.

[RandFan]

I caught this myself today. We are in a transition. Some see only chaos and anarchy. I see democracy. I think things will improve and there will always be crap as there has always been tabloid news but the power of the press is becoming more the domain of anyone who can persuade others to listen rather than those who can afford a press. Power to the people...er...ah vive la blog...$hit, french, you go girl...

[Meadmaker]

Originally posted by RandFan
Some see only chaos and anarchy. I see democracy.

You say tomato....







(For what it's worth, I think the rise of the blog is a Good Thing. I think it has changed news for the better.)

[jay gw]

Blogs will come to have a hierarchy, just like the mass media does. The top blogs will get all the attention, and the lesser blogs will be jealous. Then the lesser blogs will create a NEW new media form, called "ROG" for Revolutionary Blog. They will then set the stage for a new era in blogs.....or ROG...or whatever

[Freakshow]

One of the MANY reasons I completely hate and despise the media is their arrogance.

I remember during the whole Memogate/Rathergate/whatever-you-want-to-call-it issue, one of the CBS exec's made that comment regarding people "in their pajamas". He was trying to say that his journalists have some sort of mystic avenue to the truth that others don't.

To that I thought...what if one of those people in their pajamas is a retired FBI agent, with 30 years experience in investigating forged documents? Would you still think that your journalists knew better than he did? Why assume that journalists know more than everyone else?

I see stories all the time about computer security that have blatant, flagrant, significant errors is them. I spot these errors, and journalists/editors don't, because I have expertise in this area. But that CBS exec would just look down his nose at me and tell me to get back in my place. Maybe if the media weren't so arrogant, and would open their little private club up to others, they would start doing a better job.

Looking at all the errors I see in computer security stories, it makes me wonder about how many errors there are in all the other subjects they report on. Including politics.

I despise the media. There are not words strong enough to describe the limitless contempt I have for that despicable, pathetic, nefarious profession.

[Mycroft]

Originally posted by Freakshow
I remember during the whole Memogate/Rathergate/whatever-you-want-to-call-it issue, one of the CBS exec's made that comment regarding people "in their pajamas". He was trying to say that his journalists have some sort of mystic avenue to the truth that others don't.

As a matter of fact, that's where these guys get the name "Pajamas Media," although they will be changing the name to reflect more serious ambitions.

I agree with your assessment of the media. Whenever I see stories that involve credit or mortgages, I end up cringing at the crap that gets passed off as "news."

[Freakshow]

Originally posted by Mycroft
I agree with your assessment of the media. Whenever I see stories that involve credit or mortgages, I end up cringing at the crap that gets passed off as "news."

Exactly! When you have expertise in a particular field, you easily start spotting constant mistakes from the media. And you start asking yourself...what else are they getting wrong? I'm sure my specific field is not the only one in which they are getting it wrong much of the time. I'm sure yours isn't either.

Only-slightly-off-topic-rant...
Example of the media being a joke...why does Cindy Sheehan get so much attention? She is one person. Why does she get so much more attention that other parents that have lost someone in Iraq? Because she sits outside W's house in Texas? I don't think that is sufficient reason to warrant the attention she is getting. So the people in charge of the major media in this country (who are overwhelmingly towards the left) made a decision: this is a news story we want to tell. I don't mean that it was some conspiracy where they all got together and decided this. I mean that they all think alike anyway, and they all came to the same conclusion. So...that is where the bias comes in. They had to DECIDE to make Sheehan a major story. They had to look at all the possible things that they could report on, and make a concious decision: lets run this as our top story. Let's run it again tomorrow. And every day for the next month. Someone had to THINK, and DECIDE that. News doesn't come from some perfect, neutral, unbiased, devine intervention. It is PEOPLE. Making DECISIONS. And every decision every made by every human being is going to be made through the filter of the person's own biases. It is unavoidable.

Which is why there has to be different viewpoints, to provide balance to other media sources. ALL media is biased. PERIOD. So we should make a deliberate effort to get news from various points of view. Do I watch Fox News? Yes, I do. But I also read Newsweek, which is just as biased to the left as Fox is to the right. And I listen to some of the local conservative/libertarian talk shows. But I also read the local newspaper in this area, which is very liberal. I make it a point to get my news from various angles.

So I'm glad to have the "Pajamas Media". It is one of the components that is needed to balance out other media.

[Mycroft]

Originally posted by jay gw
Blogs will come to have a hierarchy, just like the mass media does. The top blogs will get all the attention, and the lesser blogs will be jealous. Then the lesser blogs will create a NEW new media form, called "ROG" for Revolutionary Blog. They will then set the stage for a new era in blogs.....or ROG...or whatever

Yes. This is the media cycle that has repeated itself unchanged for thousands of years. :rolleyes:

[RandFan]

Originally posted by Freakshow
why does Cindy Sheehan get so much attention? She is one person. Why does she get so much more attention that other parents that have lost someone in Iraq? Agreed, why is her voice more important than parents who have lost children with a different point of view? I just don't get it.

[geni]

Originally posted by RandFan
Agreed, why is her voice more important than parents who have lost children with a different point of view? I just don't get it.

Becuase she is makeing an effort to get her opinions herd.

[geni]

Originally posted by Mycroft
http://pajamasmedia.com/about.php

The blogosphere is fundamentally changing the relationship between media and consumer. It used to be the communication was almost purely one-way with a small handful of editors and other media gatekeepers deciding for everyone what was important to see and what interpretation to take. Now, in a day when almost anyone can put their ideas out for anyone in the world to see, we can see instantaneous viewer response to what the major media feeds us, and that response can be anything from criticism to fact-checking.

And soon the internet will change in a fundamental way how news will be created.


Some kind of coallition of blogs. I fail to see the revolution. Blogs have had a few (very few if you stop and think about it) succeses. It was that idea that got wikinews (http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Main_Page) launched. so fail it has failed to change the face of the media as we know it.

The BBC world service has an audence of 150 million. Tell me when a blog manages to get a 10th of that.

[Ladewig]

Originally posted by Freakshow


I despise the media. There are not words strong enough to describe the limitless contempt I have for that despicable, pathetic, nefarious profession.

Freakshow, I just read your accusation and decided I could not let your egregious error go unchallenged.

Journalism is not a profession - it is a trade.

[RandFan]

Originally posted by geni
Becuase she is makeing an effort to get her opinions herd. So are many others who disagree with her.

[Freakshow]

Originally posted by RandFan
So are many others who disagree with her.

And regardless, she is just ONE PERSON. Why pay so much attention to one person's opinion? How is that so news-worthy? I would rather the media take a step back, and just report facts about what is happening in the world. And in the grand scheme of things, one person being upset over Iraq is not news. That news time could be taken up by reporting much more significant stories. There is a lot going on in the world. One person being upset does not warrant top-story coverage.