(2003-09-05) Blogs Vs Alt Press

Matt Welch on WebLog variety vs Politically Correct Alternative Newspaper Publishing. "And if there's anything we all agree on," Richard Karpel said with a smile, "it's that we're antichurch."... The original alternative papers were not at all this politically monochromatic, despite entering the world at a time when Lenny Bruce was being prosecuted for obscenity, Tom Dooley was proselytizing for American intervention in Vietnam, and Republicans ruled the nation's editorial pages... And these Amateur-s, especially the ones focusing on news and current events, are doing some fascinating things. Many are connecting intimately with readers in a way reminiscent of old-style metro columnists or the liveliest of the New Journalists. Others are staking the narrowest of editorial claims as their own - appellate court rulings, new media proliferation in Tehran, the intersection of Hip-Hop and Libertarian-ism - and covering them like no one else.