Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
It doesn't. They are experts in their fields, not because they're Pagan, but because they've put considerable effort into learning about a niche field with little support from mainstream academia or publishing.
Both blogs are definitely focused on their agendas. Greer (the archdruid report) tries to be as objective as possible, but he does bring his own beliefs & conclusions to the field. He tries to explain why he considers some data more important than others, but is aware that not everyone's going to agree with his evaluations. And while he's written several books, he's not writing "for profit;" he's writing because he considers these important and interesting topics and he'd like to share his ideas & conclusions with others. Profit is great, but he's got no incentive to seek out a contract with a BPH that might restrict what he can write in his blog, or edit his books to remove the "controversial" parts (which would be most of the content).
Pitzl-Waters (the Wild Hunt) is a reporter; he seeks out news of interest to modern Pagans. There's plenty of bias in his reporting--he's not trying to be "fair to all religions;" he's telling one religious group what they want to know about what's going on in the world, and sometimes mentioning why it's relevant or where it's likely to lead. The facts he reports are as accurate as he can get them; the explanations are focused on what his audience is interested in.
The blog started in 2004, and is now one of, perhaps *the*, leading blog for Pagan news. There's no way he'd've gotten a column in a mainstream newspaper or a book contract with a BPH. He, too, is not writing for money, although I'm sure he'd love to earn enough to not need a day job.
There are countless other writers in other fields who have found an audience online. Some have found a way to make money from their efforts; others haven't and don't care. (Or rather, don't mind.)
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That's the joy of the disintermediation the web has brought (and is still bringing) about. I am not interested in this content, but like Disraeli, "I'll fight to the death for their right to say it."
The whole paradigm of mass production in based on the concept of "gatekeeping" (which can be new ideas, access to capital, markets, ect.) and using barriers to entry to maintain profitable niches.
The Internet has made this superfluos. The gates remain (with their gatekeepers) but the fences connected to them are down. People are walking around them...