Oh god, another one of those “can you really trust blogs?” pieces. I’m glad somebody’s pointing out this incident, but the attacks on the blogosphere by traditional media outlets (who have their own stake in this little fight) are getting boring.

Under assault as never before, Wal-Mart is increasingly looking beyond the mainstream media and working directly with bloggers, feeding them exclusive nuggets of news, suggesting topics for postings and even inviting them to visit its corporate headquarters.

But the strategy raises questions about what bloggers, who pride themselves on independence, should disclose to readers. Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest private employer, has been forthright with bloggers about the origins of its communications, and the company and its public relations firm, Edelman, say they do not compensate the bloggers.

But some bloggers have posted information from Wal-Mart, at times word for word, without revealing where it came from.

Atrios has the right take on this :

Unless I’m missing something this New York Times article is just another stab at holding bloggers to ethical standards and practices which don’t apply anywhere else in the universe.

The public relations industry existed long before bloggers came along and they had reporters’ phone numbers long before they had the email addresses of bloggers. Barely edited press releases have long been published, especially at smaller newspapers. I get press releases and information from all over the place all the time. Obviously disclosure is a nice idea if there are any financial relationships, a practice not always followed by our hallowed 4th estate, but if people want to devote their blogs to throwing up Wal Mart press releases they’re free.

At the same time, I really do want this to get thrown in the faces of blog triumphalists like the douches at Pajamas Media. As much as I hate seeing blogs be held up to a higher standard than other media outlets, I’m equally annoyed by the rah-rah bullshit about the “self-correcting blogosphere” or hearing conservative bloggers who don’t open their entries to comments pat themselves on the back for “fact checking their asses”.

While the technological differences and novelty of blogs have over the past few years have created various online communities and started to coalesce into a profile of what a “blogger” is, all of the hype and backlash overlook the fact that this is just another writing medium. When I hear someone malign the MSM™ and boost blogs on a generic level, it sounds as ludicrous to me as a person with a pen and paper bad-mouthing people who prefer using a typewriter. Ultimately the reliability of an individual blog is only as strong as the content. Just like television, newspapers, magazines, etc., this is dependent on the integrity of the person making the editorial decisions. The notion that the very nature of the blogosphere makes it a meritocracy in which the cream rises to the top doesn’t really account for the inexplicable success of hacks like Powerline or Instapundit. Regardless of the medium,. playing to the prejudices of your audience is a sure-fire way to the top, which is why I’d rather read “dead tree” media like Newsweek or Time over shit like Little Green Footballs any day.