FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK: An Evil Empire?

In the past few years, an elect groups of Jews have joined the blogosphere, establishing a Jewish presence in the world dominated by comments and postings. For those who have been asleep at the PC, blogs are websites with editorial style postings in reverse order, by either a single or group of authors known as "bloggers." Blog content is thus determined entirely by its bloggers, though visitors are permitted to post their own comments on a sister page. Political blogs in particular have earned high esteem and attention for their lightening coverage of the upcoming presidential election. A recent New York Times magazine article hailed blogs as surpassing national news conglomerates in popularity, drawing heightened attention to this new source of popular information.

Unfortunately, the world of Jewish blogging is not so cheery. I'm not so much referring to the amateur bloggers, who for some odd reason think that people are actually interested in reading about their daily commute to the subway or deplorable hygiene. A number of blogs covering Jewish communal affairs have recently marched themselves onto the mainstream Jewish media market by covering the latest happenings (pronounced: scandals) in our community. Generally, these blogs can all be characterized by the same likeness: they're the yenta wagons of the twenty-first century. Even the most high-brow of Jewish blogs - whose bloggers offer self-righteous meanderings and other mind-blowing insights into modern Judaism - are part of the sensationalistic blog culture.

During a past peruse down Jewish blogger lane, the following topics were repeatedly the center of conversation: details of recent scandals involving menacing rabbis who had allegedly sexually exploited women; more comments on indiscretion; rampant Haredi and "Jews-not-like-us" bashing; conversations that were certainly meant to be private were blogged. Last year in particular, one notorious blog carried a fallacious story about a group of unbecoming Yeshiva students, which made its way half way around the world. Needless to say, the irresponsible blogging created a stir of rumors, defaming the university and the students involved.

Unlike national media outlets, Jewish newspapers, sans for those operating in Israel, are published once a week at best. So when major news breaks in the Jewish community on a Tuesday afternoon, blogs will cover the story rather than wait for it to appear in a weekend Jewish rag. The problem is that without proper, investigative journalism, bloggers will merely extend their worn fingers and post whatever little information they know. Within minutes, the news has spread to the entire world; the story is out, and our incessant thirst for plotted news has been quenched, once again, thanks to the marvels of modern technology.

Traditionally, the media has belonged, in an elitist sort of way, to those who have proven their investigative and literary skills. Cranks, crackpots, and complainers always find a way to sneak themselves in. The fact remains, however, that true journalists maintain an honorable aura of responsibility. Alongside all of this, journalists generally send their articles through a heavy editing process. The point is to be as truthful to the reader as possible, and to present in the most professional fashion, news and opinion.

Instead blogs are a one-man show. There is no responsibility, no higher authority to respond to. And because blogger names are often comical pseudonyms, the obnoxious blogger can conveniently hide behind their veil of anonymity. They are not beholden to their readers in the same sense. We know nothing about them, and thus have no reason to trust them. The lack of hierarchy in the blogosphere only makes the world of internet posting all the most suspect.

Bloggers and their defendants still reading will discount the critique on the basis of pure jealousy. Blogs can get hundreds of thousands of unique hits a day, and the Jewish blogs fare quite well in this regard. The truth of the matter is that even The Commentator, with its committed online readership, cannot compete with the blog behemoth. Apparently people do want to read them, and their numbers are climbing daily. Especially since blogs are free to host, anyone with a pulse and a computer can entertain the world with sensationalist ramblings and shocking revelations. Alas, print journalism, at least in the Jewish world, cannot compete with the swiftness of blogs. Instead of looking to their traditional publications, our readers are slowly oscillating toward the blogs as their main source for news.

But it's the world of blogging that represents the true failing of our community. Bloggers, by their nature as social commentators, tend to see the negatives in virtually everything. They'll knowingly choose to extol the problems rather than the virtues. Existing solely to "get out the news," bloggers will post impulsively, replacing necessary introspection with depreciatory skepticism. Theoretically, blogs could have done a great deal for improving dialogue and sharing of ideas. They could have blurred the often debilitating geographical lines that prevent the Jewish community from common discussions. But they've opted instead to expand the channels of negativity farther than we can allow. In truth, Jewish journalism is undergoing a revolution, not just due to the threat of blogs, but because we are beginning to realize that there is a lot more occurring out there than we are covering. But blogs are not the answer. We need to find a median, a resourceful and trust worthy system that delivers Jewish news and views in a responsible and professional manner. Otherwise, we're leaving ourselves vulnerable to preying vultures and their skeptical eye that knows no boundary.