Blogging on Radio Four

And now for some navel gazing

Allow me a moment's diversion from the tube, just cos I was so incensed when I heard it.

Weblogs have definitely arrived in the UK, The Guardian Awards bring blogging to the public eye each year and now the BBC's latest outing of them was on Radio 4 on Friday in The Message - our regular look at the media with a panel of writers including politician Tony Benn, crime writer Val McDermid and Alan Taylor (a writer and journalist, I'd never heard of). Jenni Murray introduced the idea of blogs in the typical Aunty Beeb way......"And then there are the bloggers the people that write their own weblogs" - "weblogs" pronounced in a way like she was describing something unspeakable that you would have found behind the sink (you can listen to it here).

It looked promising when Tony Benn said: "Bloggers are publishing personal journalism"

Val McDermid (who Jenni Murray labels a "computer fan") says that as a writer, she'll look at the ordinary diary for research purposes. But then makes the following comment about blogs "The vast majority are not worth the time it took to type them into the keyboard. As with so many things on the internet there is a democracy of access but no democracy of talent......A lot of them are almost sub Bridget Jones, and you can see there's with a desparate trying and a striving for effect and to get onto The Guardian's list of best blogs."

She continues "The vast majority are just a waste of time"

Jenni getting into her stride now, eggs Val on and says "and of very little use and will go into ether".

Val concludes: "Yes, thankfully".

So as far as the Beeb are concerned, it's alright if you are Stuart Hughes and are a "proper writer and journalist", but even if you are writing stuff which other writers may use for research one day to understand what life which like at the turn of this century, that's not any use.

Interestingly, Jenni Murray was waxing lyrical about blogging for women several months ago, when a personal favourite of mine - Pixel Diva was on Women's Hour talking about blogs. In fact their researcher even got hold of me and "auditioned" me for the interview. I have a feeling I was a bit too unusual or blokey for a woman as I was not supposed to blog about trains but about relationships and traumas and use my blog as therapy (which incidentally I do - stops me going mad on the tube).

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Monday, January 19, 2004 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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