Journalistic Integrity in the Blogosphere

Blogs are really big these days. Until recently, mainstream media has always had a monopoly on information -- blogs have changed that. Now virtually anyone with a computer can broadcast their ideas to the world. It's an unprecedented level of expressive freedom, and in many ways blogs have supplanted mainstream media as a supplier of information.

Is this a good thing?

Consider the case of Mr. Av^d*r, the Minnesota anti-PRT activist. He has a history of lying and deception, regularly committing journalistic offenses that would get him fired from any self-respecting news organization, and yet he continues to be a major presence in the Minneapolis corner of the blogosphere. Why? Because otherwise respectable blogs like Lloydletta and DumpBachmann continue to give him a voice.

Lloydletta and DumpBachmann were both created by Eva Young. Over the years they've built a following and gained in respectability, to the point where they've even caught the eye of mainstream media.

Yet, Mr. Av^d*r, a known liar and admitted fraud, is still allowed to post at will, at both DB and Lloydletta. Eva Young has admitted that she is aware of his deceptions, but is this enough for her to remove him as an editor? Apparently not.

Why does Eva continue to allow this one editor to compromise the integrity of her blogs? We get a hint here:

"Av^d*r... told me he was Ned Luddington^***... Ken is a volunteer, and has done excellent work at Lloydletta and Dump Bachmann..."

^{*** For details on Av^d*r's "Luddington" deception, see this}

So, if I am to read this correctly, Eva is claiming that (a) she knows that Av^d*r created and maintained the fraudulent "Luddington" sock puppet for over a year, and (b) that's OK, because he's working for free!

And just what is it that Av^d*r contributes to Lloydletta and DB, other than his anti-Green, anti-PRT propaganda? As far as I can tell, the sum total of his contribution is the occasional Photoshop hack and some video of Bachmann in public, like this groundbreaking video of Bachmann twiddling her thumbs.

So, a few amateurish video shorts and Photoshop hacks -- this, apparently, is the price of Eva Young's journalistic integrity.