The roundup roundup?

Kudos to the Thoughtful Conservative for putting together an uber roundup of the various roundups of Wisconsin’s “cheddarsphere.”

I’m a little torn about this recent craze for compilations. I love being cited, cialis capsule but I always suspect that a mainstream media-sponsored roundup goes against the spirit of blogging.

The traditional media have always been the gatekeepers and mediators of importance. When traditional media powers like the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Fox News Milwaukee (and in a different context: Charlie Sykes, Jessica McBride, and Wisconsin Public Radio) make lists of notable blog posts or elevate certain bloggers to the status of columnists or commentators, aren’t they reasserting their age-old prerogative of deciding what’s worthy of attention and what’s not?

No third party alternative has ever really become viable in U.S. politics. Normally, one of the major parties simply appropriates the best ideas of the the third party for itself. And I’m wondering if we aren’t seeing the same dynamic applied to the new Fifth Estate (i.e. bloggin) by the Fourth Estate.

7 comments March 12th, 2007