The Blogosphere, In Reruns CBS News April 11, 2006 So, it looks like blogs are going the way of the classic sitcom---syndication! The Associated Press reports that starting today, a syndication service called BlogBurst will provide content from hundreds of blogs for use by none other than the sworn enemy of the blogosphere--- newspaper publishers. According to the AP, the service has so far signed up Gannett Co., The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Austin American-Statesman and The San Antonio Express, all of [which] “are looking to BlogBurst to provide expert blog commentary on travel, women's issues, technology, food, entertainment and local stories, areas where publishers may not have dedicated staff,” according to the CEO of the blog technology company providing the service. “In return, a select group of popular bloggers are offered wider distribution for their writings, he said. The online syndicate drives traffic to blog sites, allowing featured bloggers to make money from resulting online advertising fees.”

You might predict that my comments on this snippet would center on blogging in general, or the moral implications of the unholy alliance between independent bloggers and big business, or something equally bloggy or blog-centric. But I am more concerned about the list of subjects---are these supposed to be fluff topics? Women's issues aren't worth spending the money or staff time covering them requires. But what are women's issues? We make up over half the world's population, we raise most of it, and we give birth to all of it. Does that make us marginal, optional, a gray area in the black and white newsroom? I may sound flip but this attitude really concerns me. It is as if men only are interested in the "real news" stories that affect all of us. News flash: Women are human too! Here are some cutesy little girly issues in the news lately: How about nuclear war? That's pretty important to women. And on the lighter side, Coach Cal isn't leaving after all---ya know, a large number of the fans I see at the games are women. And immigration, cause many emigres to the States are female. Oh, that's not a "woman's issue"? Well, how about Breast Cancer Studies, since most of us have boobies. What about rising gas prices, because most of us ladies get around by auto, plane, or public transport---all of which use gas---and because more women than men make buying decisions on cars. Urban sprawl is one of my favorite women's issues---because once again, more women than men make buying decisions on houses. I hate the entire news industry. Bleah.