COLUMBIA - The debate between blog credibility and newspaper longevity heated up Thursday morning. MU Professor Lee Wilkins and 1974 MU alum Jay Black led a discussion comparing the days of Hildy Johnson to the present days of satirical blog, Jezebel.com.
The 1930s' play "The Front Page" told the story of star reporter Hildy Johnson who goes to work one day with the intentions of quitting for marriage and a more respectable job. After hiding an escaped murderer, Hildy hurts his relationship with his fiancee in order to write the story. He finds corruption in the police system and the mayor's office through the help of his morally void editor Walter Burns.
Thursday's forum discussed who decided what constituted news, finding that it was editors who judged news value. The discussion led to the "daily me" aspect of blogs.
Black pointed out any person could post news relevant only to them, therefore providing a biased media.
Wilkins refuted saying, "I'm not sure the ‘daily me' is all that new."
If editors decide what is news, then it creates their own "daily me." Burns, in "The Front Page," shoots down an article about the League of Nations because it didn't interest him.
After Black started speaking on the credibility of blogs, Bill Tammeus, a 1967 alumnus, spoke up. He said his blog entries were always factual, however, he started moderating the comments on his blog when they started rumors.
"I had created a forum for deeply uncivil discourse," he said. Tammeus's hit count decreased after he started approving the comments.
Wilkins closed by calling for the need of a systematic approach to reporting. Hildy Johnson used his gut in reporting decisions in "The Front Page." His approach led to truth and the conclusion of the play.
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