Blogs Help Push Controversial Writer To Resign

We've long observed that new media has become the gregarious well-loved sister of traditional media: as is often the case, when something happens, traditional media outlets like radio or TV might cover it first, but the analysis, reactions and gossip happen much faster (and juicier) online.

When Malu Fernandez wrote about feeling "suicidal" in a plane full of OFWs, she ought to have known that she was drafting her epitaph. Hundreds of blogs and online communities, most of them in the Mad Crowd Media network, lit up with coverage and commentary that snowballed into a "virtual mob" within days. Such is the power of new media: where in traditional media, people read and murmur (occasionally writing back to the editor), in new media, readers can't help tapping on their keyboards and clicking their mouses.

Yesterday, ABS-CBN news (in a role reversal of sorts) picked up the story on the internet wildfire, and its results: Malu Fernandez, confessing that "many people often find [her] direct attitude to be rude or obnoxious", had resigned from her job as a writer for People Asia and the Manila Standard.

The message to us is clear. The quality and passion of these online conversations we proudly represent have power. Our mission is to fuel this force for as long as possible.