Ritholtz Explains Blogging to Joe Kernan

Barry Ritholtz took a moment to explain blogging to CNBC’s Joe Kernan and as a fellow financial blogger, I though it was a terrific and succinct description of what we do and why.  Joe Kernan (an ex-broker and an anchor that I have always liked) seemed to have taken a page from Dennis Kneale‘s playbook yesterday and I was sorry to hear his off-the-cuff negative characterization of bloggers in general.

I’ll give you a snippet of Barry’s response and then send you over to The Big Picture for the rest.  I wish this silly battle between the bloggers and the financial mainstream media would end, as both sides would benefit from more collaboration and our combined audiences would as well.

Hey Joe,

Over the past few days, you have taken a number of shots at the blogging community. You seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of what this new media and blogging is all about. Allow me to briefly educate you.  

This *all around you here* is merely a medium of communication. It allows a small firm, or even just one person — without a television studio or a huge printing facility — to communicate with many other people. It provides an alternative outlet from the traditional media model. The few-to-many model you are familiar with is being replaced with a many-to-many model.

This technology allows me sitting on the deck of a lodge on a lake in Maine and still respond to your snarky comments on TV this morning  — and not only be read by 100,000 people today, but create a permanent, Google searchable record for the future.

Now, I can understand why all of this might frighten you. The usual gatekeepers are not in control. Audiences are fragmenting, viewers seeking out alternatives. The bolgging community is a pure meritocracy. There is high quality research, analysis and commentary being found and read by millions of investors every day.

Read the rest on TBP: 

Do Not Fear New Technology Joe Kernan (TBP)