Print media, weblogs, and food policy reporting

The blogspotting column in the August 13 issue of BusinessWeek has a kind word by Michael Loeb about U.S. Food Policy (p. 14, apparently not online, or not yet). The weekly newsmagazine enjoyed our Farm Bill coverage, which is heavily indebted to reporting at weblogs like Mulch and Ethicurean and the news summary at FarmPolicy.

Of course, FarmPolicy in turn relies heavily on quotes from original reporting in the major national, regional, and industry-specific newspapers and newsmagazines, as well as online sources. I could not possibly read all those sources myself. In addition to the hard work of blog veteran Keith Good, FarmPolicy also has contributions of policy analysis by Dan Morgan, who I associate with the Washington Post's stellar coverage of agricultural policy. FarmPolicy has support from the German Marshall Fund, where Good and Morgan each have a fellowship. Most articles in the Post have generous automated links back to related blog commentary. Like BusinessWeek, many other traditional news sources now cover online sources almost as their own beat.

For all the tension between new and old media, which I follow with interest on BoingBoing, the adjective I would use to summarize the traditional media's attitude toward new media is gracious.