Sioux Falls editor talks about Thune campaign against Daschle [View All]

[Newsjock]

Today in the in-house newsletter for all of Gannett's newspapers (yes, it's online for everyone to read)
http://www.gannett.com/go/newswatch/2005/march/nw0325-2.htm

They come from the right. They come from the left. And if you and your newspaper haven't been targeted in some fashion yet, you almost certainly will. They're Bloggers -- Web loggers -- and a recent explosion of socially and politically inspired advocates for one position or another is offering new challenges to mainstream journalism.

Many bloggers, in fact, offer themselves as alternative news sites. We know the differences, but what about readers? Do blogs pose a threat to newspapers? How should we respond to their efforts to undermine our credibility? Randell Beck, executive editor of the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, recently wrote a lengthy column about his newspaper's experiences with bloggers throughout the 2004 South Dakota senate campaign -- one of the most closely watched in the nation. The column, which chronicled the blogs' extensive efforts to discredit the newspaper and its staff, offers some interesting food for thought and raises some serious questions for all journalists.

Reader response to the column has been overwhelmingly positive, expressing both surprise that all this was going on in the background and thanks that the newspaper was laying it all out for them to see, Beck said.

"I was absolutely dumb struck,'' wrote Marilyn Kokesh of Scotland, S.D. "God help us if this is what our democracy has come to. I have nothing but appreciation and gratitude for the Argus Leader's campaign coverage. My hat is off to you and Dave Kranz for not reducing your reporting to the low level of these bloggers.''

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Original column here.