The Michael Hiltzik Affair Continued

More discussion about the Michael Hiltzik affair can be found at his own blog. He takes quite a beating from bloggers who are not objecting to the use of anonymity, but rather the disingenuous spreading of disinformation under the cover of anonymity. It seems that being such a well known journalist has only made his transgressions even worse. Or as one blogger noted:

I hope you’ve learned an important life lesson from all of this: Cover your tracks better. Or better yet, wait, this is big… don’t be someone who needs to cover tracks.

Heh, they call it anonymizer boys and girls. If you read the comments just keep in mind that many of them might be from those who frequent Mr. Frey’s blog and are friendly to his political views.

That’s the thing about the internet. You have to constantly be reading between the lines, or as we audiophiles like to put it — sorting the signal from the noise.

Bloggers also find it irresistible taking parting shots at journalists caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Then again, if you like to dish it out you should also expect the occasional hit. Such is the volatility of the blogosphere.

It’s all very interesting, but I still believe this episode is a double-edged sword and deserves a more evenhanded discussion with the larger picture in mind.

If this isn’t a perfect example of blog power then I don’t know what is.

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