Whither blogging? Or: The link's the thing

Is this true? (Via Instapundit.)

But until blogs develop into a form capable of genuinely reporting news, as well as standing for and not just against something, they're destined to occupy a compartmentalized fringe on both sides of the political equation.

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Unfortunately, currently lacking in organization and resources to be what they can and likely will be - a true alternative media; by default, even talented and resourceful bloggers are often left to simply rhetoric. And rhetoric is always more readily and often consumed by the converted, as opposed to the neutral.

I see blogs as an addition to MSM--not a replacement. Furthermore, I like the rhetoric. Not all of it. And not all the time. But what makes blog reading interesting is the chance to hear what different individuals think about the issues of the day.

True, I tend to regularly read blogs whose interests mirror my own. But I'm likely to do this when reading straight news stories, too. For instance, I'm not likely to read this story in the Times, mainly because I've had it up to here with the filibuster issue. I've scanned the headlines, heard the TV news, know about the issue generally. But it fails to grip. So sue me. I also won't be reading this story about the high price of golf clubs. Doesn't affect my life. Along the same lines, I read Instapundit because he talks about, and links to, stories I'm interested in, e.g. the Iraq war, democracy in the Middle East. And, because Instapundit is a god, people email him interesting items that I would otherwise not see. And apparently he never sleeps, so he finds links that I, who am all too human, don't.

But I just scroll up when the subject turns to nanotechnology.

Likewise LGF does a great job finding otherwise obscure stories about the Middle East. But I have neither the time nor the inclination to sift through all those comments.

Bloggers of both the left and the right have a tendency to carp about the issues that matter to them. But so does the MSM. Speaking of golf, remember a certain newspaper's obsession with a little golf tournament in Augusta? Didn't strike much of a chord with the public at large, as I recall. And it wasn't too long ago that the infamous 16 words were just about the only story the MSM covered. Day after day after day. And the coverage took the Bush lied/People died POV. Then, when it turns out that he didn't--lie that is--not so much from MSM.

In my view the best current-events bloggers understand the importance of the link. Chrenkoff's Good News from Iraq is a case in point. I read various blogs from Iraq in addition to other sources to which he links. But my approach is scattershot. Putting all these links together, providing context, and doing it on a weekly basis provides an excellent counterweight to the MSM's car-bomb-of-the-day story.