Open Source Media (OSM) launched their new web portal for bringing together online writers, journalists and commenters under their umbrella. The debut happened today and they are loaded with celebrity pundits from across the board.
Some of their contributors include Pulitzer Prize winner and former New York Times journalist Judith Miller, Larry Kudlow of CNBC’s Kudlow and Company, David Corn of The Nation, Glenn Reynolds of the Instapundit blog and a number of others.
The launch party includes a debate on the topic, “Are Blogs the New Black?” between Tom Julian and Manolo Shoeblogger. This and lots of other things are available at their website.
One ongoing debate is what are the responsibilities of bloggers regarding things like libel, printing lies versus printing the truth and accountability in general. This merely highlights part of a much larger, ongoing debate about blogs and what exactly is their roll in media as a whole.
The site itself will cover some current events, mostly political as well as a number of a huge blogroll in addition to their regular blog contributors.
A statement on one of their ads says this:
“The core of the American people has manifested itself most purely in blogs because elites for so long controlled all avenues of communication. Those days are over now. Americans face a media collective elite that views the rest of us as the great unwashed masses.” – Tammy Bruce, Editorial Board Member
This goes a long way towards trying to maintain the notion that blogs are one of the most powerful tools for free communication ever created. While one may disagree with their political views, one cannot deny the growing power of the blogs as a new medium in the world.
John Stith is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
