Blogs as tall poppy cutters
Bill O’Reilly has gone into bat for Dan Rather arguing he has been unfairly vilified over the Bush National Guard service story on US 60 Minutes.
Without actually using the word Blog, O’Reilly raises the point that bloggers can defame. The law is grappling with defamamtion and websites. It won’t be long before blogs are focussed on. And the use of opinion as a defence (in common law countries outside the US) will surely be relied upon.
Some would say it’s a bit rich for a bully-boy like O’Reilly to be taking the moral high ground on this one!
O’Reilly writes:
"All famous and successful Americans are now
targets. Unscrupulous people know that any accusation can be dumped on
the Internet and within hours the mainstream media will pick it up. It
will be printed in the papers, discussed on radio and TV and become
part of the unfortunate person’s résumé whether he or she is guilty or
not. A click of the Internet mouse can wipe out a lifetime of honor and
hard work. Just the accusation or allegation can be ruinous."
Read O’Reilly’s piece here.
Thanks to LGF for this one.
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The last thing Dan Rather needs is a man with the integrity of Bill O’Reilly leaping to his defence.
Famous and successful people have always been targets.
it’s just now, when they get caught in a huge lie, attention can be focused on them BY SOMEONE OTHER THAN REPORTERS until it damages their public image.
If your image is based on being an accurate and unbiased source of information, then you ought to pay more attention to what you say.
Who are the watchers? reporters
Who watch the watchers? the public (bloggers)