Sunday Times columnist David Bullard came under blogger fire today, for his article entitled “name and shame offensive bloggers”.
His last paragaph read as follows:
“I visited a site the other day that was so hideously racist that it would have qualified its publisher for a long spell in prison if it had appeared in print. So what’s the difference?
How come newspapers and magazines have to carry the names of their editors and publishers and watch their content and websites don’t? I’m told that it’s possible to track down the author of any offensive website and perhaps that’s what the government should be doing instead of looking at legislation to gag legitimate publications.
Better still, maybe it’s time the print journalists named and shamed some of the more offensive anonymous bloggers and published their physical addresses. Then I can start a blog site called printrevenge.com and bore you all with the details.”
If David Bullard would have focussed on facts rather than cheap insults in his article, his comments might have met with debate from the blogging community rather than disdain.
Part of his column, whether he realised it or not, is currently being discussed by bloggers worldwide.
SHOULD THERE BE LIMITS / RESTRICTIONS / LEGALITIES / CONTROL ON WHAT BLOGGERS CAN WRITE?
If he did want to bring this point across, it’s a great pity a highly regarded journalist such as David Bullard did not have the right words to express what he thought.
Perhaps David Bullard should leave the real journalism to the bloggers.
16 responses so far ↓
1 Paul Jacobson // May 6, 2007 at 11:58 pm
Lol, funny one there Eric!
2 Vincent Maher // May 7, 2007 at 12:01 am
Great points Eric!
3 Vincent Maher - Media in Transition » David Bullard owes South African bloggers an apology // May 7, 2007 at 12:04 am
[...] Nic Haralambous Uno De Waal Marius Paul Jacobson Eric Edelsein [...]
4 Neverness // May 7, 2007 at 1:34 am
David Bullard causes a ‘blog site’ storm…
David Bullard’s rant in the Sunday Times caused a storm of protest from bloggers. See, for example:
Vincent Maher
Nic Haralambous
Uno De Waal
Marius Bock
Paul Jacobson
Eric Edelsein
Coda
Justin Hartman
Being a bit otherwise, I have a s…
5 Chris M // May 7, 2007 at 2:20 am
It’s an interesting topic, I have read similar articles across a number of blogs, all talking about a bloggers code of conduct so to say. I think that there will soon be something in place, which bloggers will have to follow.
Blogging has risen to new heights over the last 6months, it’s actually scary to see how many blogs there are.
I hope to see a code of conduct, as we cannot have sites which talk out of place on topics such as, sex, race, religion, etc.
Thanks for the great article Eric.
6 Famous last words of Marius » Who the hell does David Bullard think he is? // May 7, 2007 at 7:30 am
[...] Eric Edelsein [...]
7 OR’s Blog » Blog Archive » Bullard’s hot air // May 7, 2007 at 8:15 am
[...] that have similar opinions: Nic Haralambous Uno De Waal Marius Paul Jacobson Eric Edelsein Coda Justin Hartman Shaun Dewberry Vincent [...]
8 stii.za.net » Blog Archive » Is David Bullard so wrong? // May 7, 2007 at 10:07 am
[...] Eric Edelsein [...]
9 David Bullhard sucks cock for cornflakes at “Stefano Sessa” // May 7, 2007 at 11:24 am
[...] de Waal Vincent Maher Eric Edelstein [...]
10 youngBLOOD · Bullardgate: A BIG shout-out to the Blogosphere // May 7, 2007 at 1:25 pm
[...] Eric Edelstein http://ericedelstein.com/2007/05/06/does-david-bullard-have-a-point/ [...]
11 Rouvanne // May 7, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Disdain, disdain, disdavid, disdavid! I still think he could have mentioned blogs that do do our community a service of providing quality content…
But maybe he had trouble typing with two hands because his cigar kept falling on his air keyboard.
12 Eric Edelstein » Sunday Times & David Bullard launch… // May 7, 2007 at 5:58 pm
[...] Does David Bullard have a point? [...]
13 SA Rocks » Blog Archive » Freedom to Fury : Raging Bullard? really? // May 7, 2007 at 9:27 pm
[...] even refine your skills and one day rise to the hallowed domain of the pressroom, I know you all secretly long for it, now [...]
14 FACareers » Blog Archive » Using Bullard’s Buzz // May 7, 2007 at 10:34 pm
[...] in religion and racism and you have yourself a party, people! Never underestimate the entertainment value of [...]
15 Eric Edelstein » A Thank you to David Bullard // May 13, 2007 at 10:24 am
[...] for SOME restrictions in bloggers writings (You brought up a good point on racism last week - SEE: Does David Bullard have a Point?) - this week you are supporting total “freedom of the press”? Apparently freedom of [...]
16 Aussieguy // Apr 14, 2008 at 4:03 am
I think that David Bullard has a point. Now unfortunately I have only read snippets of the article but I have always asked the question about what SA would be if the white man did not arrive. Lets be real and look at the rest of Africa, a continent that is full of poverty, underdevelopment and black male dictators running their respective countries into the ground. We only need to look above to Zimbabwe. The blacks took over, the whites left and the country is now in ruin. Now I am not a racist at all, I have blackj friends and many of them believe what I have written above. I have left SA and now liuve abroad, like most other white male South Africans, but I am deeply concerned about the future of this country as the reigns are taken by what I believe to be “unethical black men”
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