The USC Online Journalism Review is too filled with major media types to be truly clued-in about the blogosphere. Although they try. And to the major media they really seem to "get it."

They don't.

How else do you explain this, a long whiny piece from Mark Glaser moaning over a professional journalist's decision to shutter a personal site due to his conflict of interest.

Instead, Glaser cries censorship, acts like there's nothing to be done, and downplays the very-active role other Indian bloggers are taking in publicizing what has happened and working around the problem.

Here's the short version. Pradyuman Maheshwari (right), editor of Maharashtra Herald in Pune, launched a press criticism blog called Mediaah. He had no business chops and closed it. Then he opened it, and criticized the Times of India. They threatened legal action, he closed it again.

It's the response to this second closing that is significant. Indian bloggers made a big stink. The case drew worldwide publicity (including Glaser's piece). Maheshwari decided he would relaunch.

None of this could have happened to an Indian press critic even two years ago.

This is a huge success which Glaser portrays as a failure.

And that's Clueless.

To his credit, the right facts are hidden in Glaser's piece. He notes how many U.S. bloggers have been intimidated by press organizations for bogus reasons. He quotes the Indian bloggers who are getting things done. A follow-up would be nice, because Maheshwari wanted to do an organizational blog and I suspect such an organization is in the process of forming.

But why call success a failure? Why call struggle a failure? What's with this negative attitude?

I don't know.