London Review of Books:
Riots, Terrorism, Etc. “So only 12 per cent of what is in the papers consists of a story that a reporter has found out and pursued on her own initiative; and only 12 per cent of key facts are checked. The rest is all rewritten wire copy and PR. This remaining 88 per cent is, in Davies’s stinging coinage, ‘churnalism’. No wonder the papers feel a bit thin. [snip] So we have arrived at a place where ‘the heart of modern journalism’ has become ‘the rapid repackaging of largely unchecked second-hand material, much of it designed to service the political or commercial interests of those who provide it’.” For all they complain about weblogs, they are already us ... without the social self-correcting mechanisms. Most weblogs end up with dozens of amateur editors, to factcheck and add color. Pros had longtime subject-specific editors, but I believe those ranks are dwindling - subject to economy (lower-cost generalists, simply less editorial quality). Whether professional or not, be judicious picking sources to mortgage your opinions from.