There's a lot of it among we bloggers. To excoriate anyone for not knowing that our little underworld exists is a bit like blasting Bono for not knowing the lyrics of an obscure hip hop song. As much as I value the work done by countless bloggers, big time and small, most of whom are dedicated amateurs or pros for whom blogging is an increasingly profitable sideline, the world isn't obligated to pay heed to us.
There may be some merit to bloggers casting themselves as David versus the Mainstream Media as Goliath. But to a world not conversant with the relatively secret world of blogging who might get a faint whiff of what Junior's cooking up with his chemistry set down in the basement, complaining that media giants don't give us insufficient props--or that they haven't heard of us, proving that they're terminally unhip--sounds like precisely what it is: Whining.
I say, let's blog away and either earn respect or not. But don't whine about it.
BY THE WAY: This in no way is meant as a defense of the shoddy journalism perpetrated and then defended by Mapes, Dan Rather, et al. I just wish I saw a little less of the triumphalism and arrogance among bloggers. It was these very characteristics that led some of these characters at CBS to run the damning story that brought them down.
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