Blogging comes under fire

January 27, 2007

It’s been an eventful week in New Zealand with the publishing of an anonymous blog on Blogger about CYFS, our government agency for children and family social services. The blog is highly critical of social workers, naming specific cases and people and has some rather personal comments about some of them. The media has focussed on this side of the story, while the heart-wrenching stories on it, under the hurt and angry tone, are somewhat disturbing. Of course, it’s merely one side of the story and I have no dealings or personal knowledge of CYFS.

The story became big, however, when the head of CYFS said he was doing everything in his power and getting lawyers to work 24/7 to take down the blog. Instead of the blog getting a handful of hits, like many other “watchdog” or “name and shame” sites, it skyrocketed to headline news with the country debating whether or not it should be taken down. Incidentally, a non-scientific TVNZ poll had approximately 80% of respondents not wanting it gone.

In today’s Sunday papers, media personality Kerre Woodham (radio and TV host, newspaper columnist) says she wants all sites which allow anonymous comments or content to be shut down! Rather ironic, given that radio and TV do allow anonymous callers or protect the identity of interviewees when the need arises.

In addition to Kerre Woodham calling for all anonymous blogs to be shut down, today’s Herald on Sunday’s editorial hits out at bloggers:

Operated the right way, blogsites offer and generate intelligent debate and insight. The likes of kiwiblog and publicaddress are worthwhile reads, maintained by a dedicated group of talented writers and thinks. But most bloggers - and we’re talking 95 per cent - are fly-by-night, gutless wonders who prefer to spit inarticulate venom under inarticulate pseudonyms. These bloggers, operating under their own misguided belief of self-freedom rarely research any offerings…

Making up statistics (”95%”) and creating wild claims about bloggers, just because there has been a controversial case in the media this week, is hardly fair. There are plenty of insightful, articulate, intelligent, informative and successful blogs apart from those two which are listed and seem to get almost all the blog press coverage here in New Zealand.

It’s sad that traditional media needs to bash the bloggers when there’s a rich world of blogging out there.

See also
Comments

  1. Neither government child protection systems, nor politicians, nor mainstream media have shown much interest in an honest debate over the nature and quality of child protection systems in New Zealand or anywhere.

    They like it that way. The government workers get to keep their jobs, even if they fail to do those jobs properly. The politicians don’t have to answer questions about the latest catastrophe occurring under the management of bureaucrats the politicians themselves likely appointed, and the mainstream publications get to publish the occasional
    sensational story when it looks like it might sell papers.

    Meanwhile, children continue to get killed while under the “care” of government social workers, government bureaucrats continue to collect their very high salaries,
    and families caught up in the Alice in Wonderland kingdom of child protection get no help at all. l

    — Helena, January 28, 2007

  2. I think in this case the blog has helped to illuminate some obviously very real issues. In which case it was worthwhile in my opinion, anonymous or not.

    As you point out, Kerrie’s radio show provides a voice for everyday New Zealanders - so does the internet and thats the beauty of it. I was impressed when this made headline news and hope to see more of this kind of thing.

    — Frank, January 28, 2007

  3. I find people like her intensely irritating. “most bloggers - and we’re talking 95 per cent - are fly-by-night, gutless wonders who prefer to spit inarticulate venom under inarticulate pseudonyms” Firstly, the vast majority of bloggers are personal blogs, we don’t hear about them, but there are millions of them, just talking about what goes on in there lives at school or work, they’re not spitting venom at anyone. Plus, with regards the research, hasn’t she heard of google? You can fact check in seconds!

    — Pete, January 29, 2007

  4. Rachel,
    We have the same problem in the US, with the child welfare system completely over-run with cases. I also think it’s a good thing to have publicized, though naming names is not very professional. The case workers here really do the best they can, under the circumstances. What we need is more people to foster and adopt kids here, rather than adopting internationally.
    By the way, I love your blog!

    — Bill, January 29, 2007

  5. This is a fascinating case. It sounds like the author of the material is an insider who is sick of incompetence affecting children. At the same time, revealing personal information is not a desirable outcome. However, leaping from this legitimate question to a policy of stopping blogs is absurd. I’m in the United States and form time to time, we have politicians, usually rightists, demand that blogs be shut down. These are usually politicians who have a great deal to lose by an open press and internet.

    I hope the situation down there is used to take a hard look at the agency involved and not the whistle blower.

    MC

    btw, You have one of the really grat internet ‘zines down there, “Scoop” Independent News. Great people.

    — Michael Collins, January 31, 2007

  6. Kerre Woodham responds to the feed back she’s received, in her latest Herald on Sunday column.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10422357

    She also writes of “the lovely Rachel who is acting as a sort of technological spirit guide, taking me into a realm of thoughtful, blogs through her recommendations.”

    — Robyn, February 3, 2007

  7. Thanks Robyn - I’m going to post some of the blogs I referred her to shortly :)

    — rachelcunliffe, February 4, 2007

  8. I love the way the internet gives people a voice to force change. Yes, it sounds like there were some mistakes in that blog (i.e naming names) but what a cool world we will live in when everyone is publically naswerable. Go blogging!

    — Natalie Ferguson, March 4, 2007

  9. Interesting how the quality and level of professionalism (not to mention the accuracy and the degree of verifiability) in the quoted editorial was much lower than the average blog, and enormously lower than that of most blogs which have gathered a good following.

    Surely there is no possibility of the old guard in the newspaper industry feeling under threat from new technology?

    — Liam, March 19, 2007

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