But Farmer told me newspapers are carefully edited

by: Jason Springer

Fri Nov 28, 2008 at 09:14:32 AM EST

Thurman Hart pointed out a recent interview with the new Executive Editor at the Star Ledger, where he ripped news on the internet:

Q: Speaking of change, you're taking over at this newspaper at a time when the newspaper industry is changing. People can go on the internet to get their opinions, to express their opinions. A lot of people say there's no need for a newspaper editorial board or opinion pages anymore. How do you feel about that?
A: Well, I hope they're very wrong. I think a very strong case can be made for newspapers and the public need of them. The problem with information on the internet is that it is unvetted, unedited, it's raw data in half the cases. As it was described by one executive, it can be "a cesspool."
The difference is, what appears in newspapers, in both the news and editorial sections, has been researched, carefully edited, usually through more than one hand. It's dicey proposition and with all of that we still make mistakes. But we're a hell of a lot better than the internet.

Here's a thought, before you rip the internet for having unedited infomation, maybe you should look at the medium that you hold up as the model to make sure they live up to your words. For example:

Financial ills plague New Jersey's hospitals
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
PRINCETON BOROUGH -- NRG Energy said Monday its board rejected Exelon's unsolicited buyout offer, saying it "significantly undervalues" the company. It recommended its shareholders not tender their shares for the deal.
Chicago-based Exelon took its buyout offer directly to shareholders earlier this month, offering them 0.485 of its own stock for each NRG share.

Wait, NRG Energy and Excelon are hospitals being plagued by financial ills? Of course not, but by Farmer's finely tuned logic, this might just be another log in the cesspool. Mistakes happen and Farmer should focus on dealing with the many problems facing his own industry before he starts concentrating on us cheeto eaters.