One of his interns must've sat William Safire down in front of the computer and showed him a 'blog,' or 'web log' recently. How else to explain why The Times lame duck op-ed columnist would bother to write about blogs in his journalism state of the union address yesterday?. (Speaking of blogs: we checked one out this weekend: apparently some young woman's boyfriend is having problems at work and their relationship is suffering, but she can't wait for the new Beck CD to come out and she wants a pair of shoes she saw in a movie. Good stuff.)

Anyway, Safire worries that the press is going through a bit of a blue period:

America's quality media are now wading through the Slough of Despond. Our self-flagellation, handwringing and narcissism threaten our mission to act as counterweight to government power.


Come on, Bill: narcissism has never slowed down the press. And what's this "counterweight to government" stuff all about?
The Depressed Press [NYT]