About the Newsblog
Welcome to the Newsblog at American Heresy. Here, we are tracking the latest activities and media coverage of issues pertaining to American identity, religion, and culture. This blog exists to alter the standard flow of information: from PR managers to press release to a wire service journalist to paper or internet. This flow has little to do with investigation and everything to do with generating copy that will in turn generate clicks or up subscriptions. As media sources perpetually consolidate (and we’ll be covering more of the McClatchy meltdown), there are fewer opportunities for journalists to have any sort of relationship to their subjects, particularly at the national level. As a result, while local “color” pieces may still rely on the expertise and contacts of a professional journalist, increasingly, what we learn about events that affect the entire US and the world come to us by way of journalism-by-fiat.
Despite the inflated praise of the blogosphere as the antidote to the mainstream commercial info monopolies, we’ve seen that most blogs indulge in partisan self-righteousness, cheap shots, and troll hunting in the comments. And they’re boring.
We at American Heresy find it fascinating that there is such fervor for maintaining ideological purity wherever written text is found. We also view this straining for purity as a symptom of the Puritan possession of American rhetoric. Here at American Heresy, we’re less concerned with towing any party line and more interested in exploring the contradictions - this, we believe, is how we move forward - instead of firing across binary lines ad infinitum.
We invite you to join us. You’ll need to log in with an email address to comment. Comments are always subject to moderator approval or deletion. Occasionally, your comment may not appear for a while. Some comments get thrown into a queue for double-checking.
If you’d like to become a contributor, please email newsblog@americanheresy.com with two sample pieces.