Iran: EPIC fail for the MSM - major props to the blogosphere

[Merryweather]

A bunch of Cheeto eaters just showed up cable news and the MSM at large.

The kind of turmoil in Iran hasn't been seen in the Middle East in decades, and could end up having a major geopolitical impact. A media doing its job would have had wall-to-wall coverage of it. But instead networks chose to play documentaries and obsess over the really important news...such the fall-out from Letterman's Palin joke. They dropped the ball BIG time.

While the networks virtually ignored the events taking place in Iran, blogs provided detailed coverage, swift updates, and detailed analysis. The internet was, and still is, the place to go if you want news of Iran. In Iran itself, blogs became the key to organizing protests as Twitter and Facebook were cut off at points over the weekend. They became the key source of information to the outside world as to what exactly is happening in the chaotic atmosphere. Videos of the violent crackdown appeared on YouTube before the news channels. Basically, the blogosphere and various other websites did what the MSM are supposed to do, but didn't.

We knew this already, but now it's official: the media are a complete and utter joke.

[Orrex]

1. But will blogs tell me the latest on Jon-n-Kate? I don't think so!

And what about Brangelina?!?

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. I have to say, blogs have been full of false rumours too

The 'swift updates' have often been meaningless conjecture, disguised as fact. Anyone relying on blogs alone for what is going on in Iran won't have the faintest idea of what is going on.

[Merryweather]

3. I think you'd get that on any medium in a situation like this one

Revolutions and uprisings = chaos. There won't be any way to ascertain any reports as they come in and you have to make do with what you can get. But the main thing is they actually covered it from the start unlike the useless cable news channels, and while not all of the 'news' may be true, they do still give an idea of the atmosphere in Iran.