Despite signs of promise in the political sphere, and despite self-congratulatory claims by journalists that they read blogs every day, here's more proof that the mainstream media, from top to bottom, just does not "get" blogging:

Blogger? Journalist?

Now that anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can set up shop on the Web, the days when you could tell who was a reporter by looking for a press card stuck in a fedora are long gone. Both journalists and bloggers will debate whether there's a difference between them, on Fri., Apr. 8, at 9:30 a.m. The panel includes Jeff Gannon, whose question at a presidential press conference focused attention on the issue; Ana Marie Cox, editor of Wonkette.com, and Congress Daily's John Stanton. Reserve at 662-7501.

Right, so Gannon Guckert is ... what? A blogger? A journalist? AFAIK, he's neither. What kind of insight or expertise is he going to bring to this?

And much as I love the whimsy of Ana the Wonkette, I find it telling that she's the one who always seems to get the invites. She's the one on Tina Brown for the monkey show. Okay, that's great, that's fine. She's on there as a lefty monkey, to counter the rightie monkeys for the "fair and balanced" monkey shines. (Tastefully, Tina tends to steer shows away from monkey screeches. This show is a kinder and gentler polizoo.) I should not expect the MSM monkey shows to have any serious bloggers.

But what's with the National Press Club? Are they a serious organization or a professional horse's ass(ociation)?

Hello! National Press Club! This is a serious issue you're claiming to address in this panel! So why not put some serious bloggers and serious journalists on the panel?! Or is this merely a demonstration by example? Put some lightweights up there and say, "bloggers and journalists"?

In case you didn't notice, there are bloggers facing steep fines and criminal charges for their reporting, and we can only expect more to come.

And you treat it like a fucking joke?

Says AmericaBlog:

Uh huh. So you invite Gannon, a woman who jokes about butt-fucking on her blog (and we do love her butt-fucking jokes, but again, how this has to do with a serious discussion on Gannon's credentials, color me confused), and someone from Congress Daily.

Not a single actual journalist-blogger is even on the panel that will be discussing blogging-journalism, and most certainly not anyone representing the "other" side of the GannonGuckert credential issue.

Look who's on the panel:

1. Gannon, who thinks he's an acceptable journalist.
2. Wonkette, who thinks we should err on the side of accepting him as a real journalist, per her own quotes to Howard Kurtz in the Wash Post, and
3. Then there's Congress Daily, whose sister publication, the Hotline, wrote a scathing editorial against our role in the GannonGuckert story.

So, the august National Press Club is holding a panel on the issues surrounding the GannonGuckert story and the only person they invite who was actually involved in the story is GannonGuckert himself.

Up until now, I've held the general view that the problem with the MSM was corporate ownership (with the occasional political agenda), beancounter management (that decides that covering Iraq is not as profitable as covering Michael Jackson's trial), and rock-star journalists (who love the limelight and manage to make all stories about them). But now I'm more and more convinced that most of the people in this "profession" have the same Establishment blinders on, and have totally bought into the whole conservative frame that the press is the burlesque act to make the propaganda announcements entertaining.

It's irresponsible and reprehensible that an ostensibly serious organization is taking on such a serious issue as "bloggers vs. journalists" with such a pro-Bush, pro-conservative bias -- and with such a lack of any sort of seriousness.

Come on, media girl! Lighten up!

Yeah, uh huh. That is just what our national media needs -- to lighten up!

National Press Club: You're a bunch of fools. Go on, now. Keep the king entertained.

[whence: Agonist and AmericaBlog via Echidne]

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media girl also blogs at other places.