JessicaRulestheUniverse.com

For several days Manila and the blogosphere were riveted to the $70,000 blog. Its revelations were so titillating that readers actually got more information than they wanted. It even started to write itself—anonymous commenters sent the stories spinning off in many directions while offering insights into celebrity culture, class warfare, and changing social mores. It raised questions as to cyberspace jurisprudence. For a few days, it may have been bigger than the NBN ZTE scandal. Plus I could not get The Smiths’ song Panic out of my head.

Last night the blog came to an end (Note: That was at 11; things change quickly), and you could feel the city’s withdrawal symptoms. Two people at dinner actually shrieked, “NO!” As someone put it, “Ay, balik-ZTE na naman.” The discussion turned to whether the scandal had helped perpetuate those in power by distracting the public from the previous, more expensive scandal.

This whole affair is a demonstration of the power of new media. Yesterday, Noel and I were wondering if the papers would pick up the story. (The story itself may have been minor by news standards, but the audience reaction was not.) We quickly realized that this would just be a formality. More people have probably read that blog than read the papers. In the digital age, you get information direct from the source, raw and unfiltered, but without the benefit of the fact-checking, copy-editing, objectivity, analysis, and intellectual rigor that print media and television are supposed to bring to a story.

If food just shot out of your nose, you are not alone. The traditional media have been remiss in their responsibilities, not just here but everywhere. They have set their audience adrift without a paddle in an ocean of information. And they wonder why they’re losing the audience to blogs. If our guides have deserted us, we might as well make our own way.

For perspective, from the Guardian: The world’s 50 most powerful blogs.

P.S. Old media pick up the story when everyone (or everyone who would take an interest) has already heard it. The scandal is not the story, how news of it spread is the story.