Some extremely inciteful thoughts on the PR industry’s success at feeding the mainstream media in this article by essayist and programmer Paul Graham:

Reporters like definitive statements. For example, many of the stories about Jeremy Jaynes’s conviction say that he was one of the 10 worst spammers. This “fact” originated in Spamhaus’s ROKSO list, which I think even Spamhaus would admit is a rough guess at the top spammers. The first stories about Jaynes cited this source, but now it’s simply repeated as if it were part of the indictment. [4]

All you can say with certainty about Jaynes is that he was a fairly big spammer. But reporters don’t want to print vague stuff like “fairly big.” They want statements with punch, like “top ten.” And PR firms give them what they want.

If I wasn’t staring a drop dead deadline in the face, I would take more time to weigh in on this subject. But I think it is worth noting now that Paul’s views echo the opinions of a number of people I have interviewed lately for the latest book project I am contributing to about weblogs. It is summed up best by Paul here:

I think the main reason is that the writing online is more honest. Imagine how incongruous the New York Times article about suits:

“The urge to look corporate– sleek, commanding, prudent, yet with just a touch of hubris on your well-cut sleeve– is an unexpected development in a time of business disgrace.”

or the Business Week article about tagging:

“Joshua Schachter used to be a lot like the rest of us online. When he surfed the Web, he’d zip through interesting articles only to find that days later he couldn’t remember where he had seen the stories or sites that had caught his interest.”

would sound if you read it in a blog. The problem with these articles is not just that they originated in PR firms. The whole tone is bogus. This is the tone of someone writing down to their audience.

Whatever its flaws, the writing you find online is authentic. It’s not mystery meat cooked up out of scraps of pitch letters and press releases, and pressed into molds of zippy journalese. It’s people writing what they think.

(Hat Tip: Doc Searls)