Beyond the Blog: Manufactured Authority

I keep going back to tpmcafe.com to see what they have up. That's not a behavior I can explain. Maybe it's pathological.

I really do think that tpmcafe is representative of a post-blog media form that is beginning to emerge on the internet. Another example is Arianna Huffington's Huffington Post, which combines blog-style commentary and reader discussion with Drudge-style headlines.

If blogs were supposed to be the decentralization of political commentary, what do these new sites represent? I keep coming to the conclusion that they are a real problem.

These sites manufacture authority. The official contributors to tpmcafe likely could not pull down a significant readership on their own, but put them on a site endorsed by Josh Marshall, and they have instand credibility, despite their background.

Take as an example Matthew Yglesias. Who is Matthew Yglesias? He's a 24 year old yahoo. There is no reason this man's views on anything carry any more validity than yours or mine. But give him a place at tpmcafe and suddenly people think he is some genius.

And that's what I really find disgusting about that site. I am disenchanted with the contributors, and no amount of graduate degrees from whatever university you like will make up for useless commentary. People listen though, because the site itself generates legitimacy without any effort.

I know my position on this is self-defeating because any complaint I have can easily be levelled against our fevered rantings here, but it really bothers me that we have removed all barriers from punditry, especially on sites that have the ability to be influential.

What barriers should there be? I'm sure how to completely answer that question. I seriously doubt that my life will be academic, but there need to be sound bases for propositions and that may include academic research, or, at a minimum, clear thought.