Are We in the Age of Unoriginality?

Something I wrote a long time ago but never posted:

Generally, I try my best to be thoughtful and articulate. More often than not I fall short of these lofty goals. What has this blog been? A failed experiment? An attempt to embrace and employ the talents of those I follow? I'd venture to say it's been a creative outlet and a platform for me to say whatever I've want, almost indifferent to whether or not people actually read this thing (and at times, I'm afraid to promote it because....it's just not that good). To me, this blog is just a chance to vent or write a journal of sorts when I feel like it. It's filled with whatever is relevant to me - music, sports, news, and complaints.

But to many, blogs are a business. Sites like deadspin, drudge report, above the law, and countless others are legitimate sources of content that sell ad space. This all begs the question though: are we in the age of unoriginality?

I post links and copy quotes from other stories. But recently, Ian shapira of the Washington Post wrote a great article on blogs and how they're killing journalism. I am an adamant supporter of blogs. I think they have their purpose and they need to be embraced. Shapiras article, however, was directed at gawker, a web site that compiles major news stories and adds whitty comments (that's the profile in a nutshell). At first, shapira thoght it was cool that he was blessed with gawker coverage, but his editor later pointed out that he should be outraged. Hours of work were poured into this story, only to have it cut up and pasted by a blogger who gave little attribution to the Post and completed the "article" in an hour or so.

There is a fine line. Perhaps gawker crossed it. You see, I'm conflicted. What will we do when the newspapers are gone. Shapira points out that the Post has done four buyouts since 2003. And we are talking about one of the largest newspapers in the world. Imagine those in the smaller markets. And all the while gawker is profiting by reprinting headlines and selling ad space. As newspaper revenues fall, so too will the journalists. And then what? Who does the leg-work, who generates the stories, who does the research and writes the articles? If the newspapers collapse, where do the gawkers go?


-- Post From My iPhone