Kaplan speaks to students on blogging

Rick Kaplan, University alumnus and president of MSNBC, spoke to more than 50 students in a "Brown-bag" session Monday about the importance of blogging and the value it holds in the society.

Dressed in an orange shirt, blue Illinois vest, and a wristband saying, "I am Loyal to Illinois," Kaplan spoke at length about the impact of blogging in society today.

Kaplan said blogs, self-publishing Web sites where people can voice their opinions about any topic, have helped people get more involved.

"Blogging allows people to speak their mind, and it gets a lot of people active and energized," Kaplan said. "I feel more people would vote if they know what was going on, and these blogs allow us to get closer to a true democracy."

Kaplan said there are over eight million blogs, and that these blogs help the mainstream media find out what people are finding most important.

"These bloggers allow people who are not heard by mainstream media to have a voice," Kaplan said.

But Kaplan also told the crowd that there were downsides to the popularization of blogging. He said bloggers can act in a mob mentality and may not be accurate in their reports.

"The bloggers' accuracy rates are good for baseball, not for journalists," Kaplan said. "A baseball player can make seven out of 10 at bat and be highly respected. If journalists are only right seven out of 10 times, this would be terrible."

Kaplan said bloggers are beginning to get sued because of the content of their postings, which he considered necessary to hold bloggers responsible.

"Bloggers have to be accountable for what they say," Kaplan said.

Nevertheless, Kaplan said he sees a bright future in the field of blogging.

"All of my anchors use blogs, and I feel this is a way for more people to become more active instead of passive," Kaplan said.

Stephanie Paulsen, freshman in LAS, said she felt that Kaplan provided great insight about blogs and how they operate.

"I didn't really realize how big blogs were and how fast they can grow in one month," Paulsen said.

Paulsen said the lecture has motivated her to become a blogger herself.

Graduate student Susan McKenna said she likes the idea of news networks working with the blogs instead of against them.

"I feel that Kaplan is doing a good thing by embracing these blogs and incorporating them into MSNBC's broadcast," McKenna said.

But McKenna also said she fears that these blogs can mislead people.

"I worry that people would begin to take these blogs as fact instead of opinions," McKenna said.