More hoopla on blogs

Adam Cohen hops into blogs over the less than adequate ethical approaches he says define the blogosphere:

“Many bloggers make little effort to check their information, and think nothing of posting a personal attack without calling the target first - or calling the target at all. They rarely have procedures for running a correction. The wall between their editorial content and advertising is often nonexistent… And bloggers rarely disclose whether they are receiving money from the people or causes they write about.”

Elsewhere, the Times looks at Nick Denton's much pored over blog business, Gawker. The business of blogs, their viability and they may produce, is of great interest. But Denton will not be sucked into hyperbole.

Critics of the blog movement wonder whether the hoopla over the commercial viability of blogs - particularly as publishing ventures - is overstated. "Blogs primarily excel at marketing and promotion for companies or individuals," Mr. Phillips of I Want Media said. "I think blogging can catapult unknown writers, and it can give them a platform if they're talented. But as a stand-alone business, I think the jury is still out on that."