"The Old Media vs. the Blogosphere" by John Hawkins

"The Old Media vs. the Blogosphere" by John Hawkins

" Jonathan Klein of CBS is quoted as saying: ''You couldn't have a starker contrast between the multiple layers of check and balances [at '60 Minutes'] and a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas writing.''

That mocking quote by Jonathan Klein has been adopted by the blogosphere and turned into an anthem by many of the same bloggers who have gleefully--and might I add successfully--dissected Dan Rather's fake memos like a high school science whiz carving away at a frog.

However, the snide quote from Klein has obscured a larger truth: that a network like CBS shouldn't have needed bloggers--pajama clad or not--to have pointed out that its story was less credible than a column about ethics in journalism written by Jayson Blair. CBS has an immense budget, a large and experienced staff, and the contacts and resources that they need to determine the truth of the story before it ever hit the airwaves.

So how did they get fooled?"