McCosky, come down from your pedestal. You cover the Pistons, not exactly a beat that will get you a Pulitzer.

And read the First Amendment when you get a chance. Bloggers can do whatever they darn well please and if you don’t like it don’t read it and don’t respond to it.

I am a certifiably insane Tiger fan, even when they are 43-119. I get more insightful and more reliable Tiger news from this blog than anywhere else. Period. And more detailed information too. Who says the Detroit News is “legitimate” and that DTW is, well…. “illegitimate?” Face it, the internet has made your “legitimate” (i.e. paying) job an anachronism. Anybody can publish anything, and all your precious rules no longer exist. I guess the buggy manufacturers felt the same way about Henry Ford.

Some bloggers are idiots. Yes, McCosky, you are a master of the obvious. Some sportswriters are idiots as well. You may have earned the coveted Rob Parker Award.

What exactly does that special j-school training entail? Is there a class on how to avoid taking a critical look at official policy and relying solely on information from insiders who have an interest in portraying the facts in a certain light? Is there a required class entitled, “How not to ask critical questions while your country is being led to war?” Or “how to write a news piece using press releases and PR statements as primary sources?”

Yeah. That journalism school training has really done wonders for our news media.

And before someone gets all up in arms, none of this is to say that I don’t gather information from traditional sources, because I most certainly do. I just don’t accept that information as the absolute truth without turning to other trusted sources that help ME put it all into critical perspective.

Rejecting other, non-traditional sources of information because the people behind them don’t have a particular degree is simply moronic and, when we’re talking about something other than sports, potentially dangerous.

What really kills me, though, is the “trained professionals” line, as though it takes some sort of special training and understanding to know how journalism works. What a joke. Journalism school is basically for networking. Anything they have to teach can be picked up on by anyone with the slightest amount of perception– which are the kind of people who make for better journalists in the first place. To point to that as a reason the “legitimate” media are somehow more creditable and worth listening to than bloggers– who write for free and entirely out of passion– is pathetic.

These alternative sources, such as blogging, also serves a valuable purpose: “elites,” like McCosky are rightfully questioned. They don’t like it, because, as he mentioned, he has a “degree” and “ethics” and, therefore, is beyond reproach.

This kind of junk is exactly the reason that many people seek alternative sources for their news and comment.