Avs Talk - A Colorado Avalanche Blog

* I started this a while back and thought I should just publish the damn thing and not worry about making it a Hemingway. In doing so, I've left a lot of holes for people to poke which I encourage. Suck me back in to the blogging game, people!

In Bruce Dowbiggin's column on The battle over bloggers, there was one point that really stuck out at me. Well, aside from the $10,000 bond idea which is about the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

When he stated that it was a point of honor for most MSM to show up after a tough column and let the subject have his say in person, it immediately brought to mind the two biggest reasons I believe MSM reporting is weak and repetitive - they're scared and they're too friendly with their subjects.

A great example is when reporters use player's nicknames. It feels completely contrived and they are either trying to fit in with the fans or fit in with the players. And I don't believe either is a function of journalism.

It often seems like journalists are themselves starstruck by the business they're in and they want to hang out with the cool kids.

But journalism is not a popularity contest with the players. It's a popularity contest with the fans and if you provide generic content, you'll get generic fans.

But please don't all simply resort to "rip jobs" to liven things up.