Monday, September 13, 2004

How to admit one's error(s)

That nice fellow, what's-his-name, over there at Instapundit has this to say about one of the intrinsic traits of the blogosphere and how it differs from MSM (mainstream media),
"This also means admitting when you're wrong. And that's another difference. When you're a blogger, you present ideas and arguments, and see how they do. You have a reputation, and it matters, but the reputation is for playing it straight with the facts you present, not necessarily the conclusions you reach. And a big part of the reputation's component involves being willing to admit you're wrong when you present wrong facts, and to make a quick and prominent correction."
Well now, I certainly feel a lot better having seen this expounded in writing, for I have on several occasions found it necessary to report the following;
"Yup, y'all's raht, ah'm jist a stoopid sumbitch, har, har."
I await Dan Rather's like-worded admission. Perhaps I should send him a script. I know. I'll check with a well known mystery novelist and screenwriter. He'll be sending a similar script to the Cincinnati Post.

Update: Hugh Hewitt disagrees a bit with Glenn (the what's-his-name from above). Hugh says that small bloggers, and Mark in Mexico would qualify as one of the teeny weeniest, actually operate in a high-trust environment because their friends read the blogs and expect to be told the truth. Well, that's certainly true because all of my friends who slavishly visit Mark in Mexico daily already know that Ah'm a stoopid sumbich, har, har.

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