Blog For Free!
Archives
Home
2008 May
2008 February
2007 July
2007 June
2007 May
2007 April
2007 March
2007 February
2007 January
2006 December
2006 November
2006 October
2006 September
2006 August
My Links
Alternet
Ask a Question here
BRAD BLOG, The
CREW
C-SPAN
Full Frontal Scrutiny
Gun Toting Liberal, the
NewsTrust.net - Good Journalism
NewsTrust.net Blog
Poker Face
POGO
PopUpCommontater WP
SourceWatch
Sunlight Foundation
The Hill
The Metropolis Times
tBlog
My Profile
Send tMail
My tFriends
My Images
Sponsored
Blog
| Surfin' the 'Net 4 You |
| 07.28.07 (12:10 am) [edit] |
I'm a long-time proponent of getting involved in the issues that most irk us - it helps to stave off the exploding head syndrome. heh heh I've come across a number of sites that float my boat enough to ask my readers to come aboard and journey with me. My favorite site for the moment is News Trust, and to paraphrase their online blurb, it's a citizen news service dedicated to good journalism online, featuring the best news from hundreds of trusted online sources. The best feature is that members rate the news stories on journalistic quality and this gives me the satisfaction of having my say about an article's veracity, balance and/or fairness. Another thing I like about News Trust is that I can choose between a quick review or a longer review based on the amount of time I can devote. Plus, it's one of the most well-thought-out and comprehensive interactive website's I've come across in a loooong time! SourceWatch is a website centered on government, Congress, and all things political, dedicated to citizen journalism that gives the member a way to furnish and/or correct information in the public domain. Chock full of information! I highly recommend Law.com and JURIST if you're an armchair lawyer. You'd be surprised how much information is offered on these 2 sites. OpenTheGovernment.org is a website coalition of consumer advocates, good-government groups, library groups, labor organizations, environmentalists and journalists who are dedicated to reversing the government's pattern of secrecy. OpenTheGovernment.org and People For the American Way Foundation released their new report entitled Government Secrecy: Decisions Without Democracy 2007, which shows how executive power has drastically increased while accountability has diminished. Lastly, it's my pleasure to once again point out the Sunlight Foundation, a website that makes it possible for citizens to learn more about Congress and their elected representatives, help reduce corruption, assist in demanding more transparency and accountability from government, and lastly, attempts to restore public trust in our governmental institutions using technology and "the power of the Internet" to accomplish these ends. Check out these sites. You won't be disappointed! You can find the original post here ;) |
posted by: Lindy (reply)
post date: 08.06.07 (10:17 am)
Hola, PuC.
NewsTrust presents an interesting situation. I get your reasoning for liking the site... the idea that you can give your opinion as to how biased the articles are in an effort to help others decide what to read and what not to waste their time on, etc. On the flip side, it also presents an opportunity for people to manipulate the reviews, eh. Makes me wonder how they keep an eye on the motivation behind the reviews. I trust the reviews are comprehensive enough to determine intent. Still, it's nice to have a source such as that one, when you want to avoid some of the more obvious offenders of slanted journalism.
'Unlike some other wikis, SourceWatch has a policy of strict referencing, and is overseen by a paid editor.'
I think SourceWatch looks very promising. But I think the above statement makes them look petty. What a jab at Wikipedia, despite how increasingly comprehensive Wikipedia has become as an information source. I do like how open and uncluttered SourceWatch is - especially compared to OpenTheGovernment. Also an interesting and promising site, though the colors and the busyness get me a little crosseyed! Same with PFAW - still, I think they may be worth perusing. I've printed out the report and am eager to take it home to Devon for a little 'light reading.' It looks like it's going to have some gems in it. As for the Sunlight Foundation, wow. They fund the efforts of ordinary folks, now that's putting your money where your mouth is. Most excellent, PuC.
And lastly, thanks for adding your livejournal link! I've been searching through my email, trying to find it again. Finally! And here I thought I was just really not good at spelling 'Commontater' - *wanders off muttering, 'I shudda thought about that extra T...' ;)
posted by: commontater (reply)
post date: 08.07.07 (1:43 am)
Reply to: Lindy -
Glad you liked some of the linked sites. Like you, I of Wikipedia as one entity, but it isn't. I believe SourceWatch is referring to all the other mini-wiki-like sites that use the same open source format but don't cite references. I've come across several of them in the past few weeks and you'll know what I'm talking about (as well as SourceWatch) when you come upon one :) I've written about Sunlight Foundation on PuC before as it's one of my favorite sites.
Oh, and about the handle "commontatter" with 2 t's on LJ - I couldn't use 1 t because someone else has it so I settled for the 2 t's thinking it was close enough since I used PuC as the title same as here.
posted by: lindy (reply)
post date: 08.07.07 (9:36 am)
Gotcha. I kind of like Common 'Tatter' - tatter.. natter.. bladder? Oi. You've gone from a Tatertot to a lace maker. ;)
Thanks for setting me straight on the wiki bit. You are right, and I dare say that Wikipedia continues to be plagued with uncited sources. It just struck me as kind of haughty. Tis a powerful ability they have, eh? Convevying haughty via the Internet. ;)
|
