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May 15, 2005
Blogging 101 - Is Blogging Journalism?
By QBlog in Blogging 101
- Updated May 29, 2005
"Is Blogging Journalism" was one of the questions posed for discussion at last week's BlogNashville conference. My answer is similar to Dana Blankenhorn's — it's a stupid question.
To say a blog is journalism is like saying web pages are journalism. Journalism can happen on Web pages, and on blogs, in lots of places. Not everything that's printed is journalism. Not everything that's broadcast is journalism. Yet we have print and broadcast journalism. It's the same with blogging software.
Blogging is simply a publication tool identified by certain characteristics that distinguish it from other publication tools. When people ask the "is blogging journalism" question what they really want to know is whether or not bloggers who report and opine about public issues and current events should enjoy the same respect and protections given to traditional journalists? My answer to that question is a resounding YES.
What Is A Journalist?
A journalist simply reports information (and sometimes, in the case of columns and reviews, expressly shares opinions) to others and hopefully does so accurately, completely and with integrity. Unlike doctors or lawyers there is no formal certification or licensing process for journalists so anyone can claim to be a journalist. However, the marketplace ultimately decides who is and is not a journalist. Just ask Geraldo Rivera and Matt Drudge.
In a competitive marketplace those with skills and desire will succeed while the talentless hacks will usually fail.
The Blogging Parallels
Like journalism, there is no formal licensing or certification process for bloggers. Virtually anyone can blog and, like journalists, the marketplace determines which bloggers are worth reading and which should be ignored. Bloggers with skill rise to the top and command an audience while the talentless hacks remain unread.
The Concerns
Many traditional journalists express concerns about blogging based on five key issues:
- Credibility
- Accountability
- Ethics
- Agenda
- Accuracy
Let's examine each issue as it relates to bloggers.
Credibility One of the primary criticisms of blogs is also what makes blogging so revolutionary — anyone can say anything about everything to everyone. Due to that accessibility, critics rightly question the credibility and veracity of blog content. But credibility is not a birthright nor a permanent honor bestowed on any individual or institution. It must be regularly earned by consistently demonstrating that the content is trustworthy, accurate and credible.
60 Minutes is considered a credible news magazine but lost much of that credibility over Rathergate. Likewise the New York Times lost credibility during the Jayson Blair incident. And don't forget the Newsweek debacle. Main Stream Media (and the journalists it employs) must earn, and re-earn, its credibility. Bloggers must also earn, and re-earn, credibility. In both cases the audience (or marketplace) decides which information sources (bloggers and traditional journalists) are credible.
The significant distinction between most bloggers and traditional journalists is that most bloggers have no financial incentive to be credible while a journalist's livelihood is directly connected to his credibility. But credible bloggers, like credible journalists, are usually motivated by more than just a paycheck.
Accountability
Who holds bloggers accountable? Libel and other laws apply to bloggers as well as journalist. Also, like journalists, a blogger's audience holds him accountable and as that audience grows the degree of scrutiny and accountability also grows. While journalists are also held accountable by their employer (publisher, editor, supervisor, etc.), popular bloggers are held accountable by a peer group that works a little like the Open Source community. Good blogging gets recognized and supported while poor blogging gets ridiculed and castigated. It's not structured, but for the most part, it works.Ethics
Journalists are taught ethical standards in school while bloggers must learn them on their own. This reality gives journalists an ethical advantage but not an insurmountable one. Most ethical guidelines are just common sense and with some experience, bloggers can discern what is and isn't ethical. And let's not kid ourselves, journalists are human and can be as unethical as any politician in spite of all their training. Real ethics come from personal integrity and both bloggers and journalists that lack integrity will have a difficult time following ethical guidelines no matter how what the level of ethical education.Agenda
Do journalists have an agenda? They're trained to be unbiased but many have shown that such training can be ineffective. And so we, as journalism consumers, are left guessing about potential motives and possible hidden agendas in news reports and editorials. Such is rarely the case with bloggers.Bloggers often wear their agendas on their sleeves which makes it easier (at times) to put the reported information in its proper context. We can expect a "right" perspective from Instapundit and a "left" perspective from Daily Kos. Full disclosure may not be a blogger's advantage but at least it removes agenda ambiguity.
Accuracy
Traditional journalists don't have a lock on accuracy. Neither do bloggers. Instead of keeping score both should just recognize that the public detests negligent mistakes from both traditional journalists and bloggers. Don't piss off the people.
So Is Blogging Journalism?
Certain types of blogging are indeed journalism. If you've ever had any desire to become a journalist, the traditional kind, then I suggest you start blogging. It's a great way to get your feet wet and better understand how journalism works (and doesn't work).
Some futurists imagine a day when all news will be reported by citizen bloggers, making traditional journalists irrelevant. While that may happen (though unlikely) I imagine a day when all traditional journalists become bloggers and we ask the question, "is journalism blogging?"
Blogging 101 publishes every Sunday and provides blogging tips, advice and tutorials for blog newbies and veterans alike.
Comments
Or may be that journalist is threatened by blogging :)
I dunno, I like ease and openness of blogging instead of Corporate styled journalism.
Here it goes:
Newspaper:
- Never read once except job listing. Why would I read some thing that I don't care about some one that I don't like and waste my time? Why? If there's some thing major like election or war going on, I'll know any way.
- All newspapers are pretty much the same. Toronto Star / Sun. They prioritize the news in the same way. What if some one who is not interested in those topics? It's hard for to find any thing that I like there. Even TV is way less 'uptight'
- Many newspapers have a lot of restrictions on them (as it seems to me) and editors and other folks. So I dunno, they have to look after their jobs and stuff.
- In spite of all that, are newspaper balanced? No. I don't think so. They're in business and they publish what sells. That's it.
Blogging:
- So many blogs out there. So the hell with politics and screw NBA. I read what I like and don't even know millions other I don't.
- You do find good fair and balanced blogs. Like I found this one and some others.
- You can participate in it via comments section. There was a somewhat misleading journalist here in March of Perception who posted some rambling like how good Quixtar is. She was used to unquestioned journalism and didn't like the comments. There, that's problem with many journalist. They like to opine about others but can't stand some one saying some thing about them.
- No more tree cutting, or paying money for not so environment friendly and waste producing news papers.
- Blogs are more different than each other than news paper. And far fewer ads. Well in most cases :)
- You feel closer to blogger, it doesn't feel like some corporate entity. More real.
Anyways, my views might be slanted, as I never liked journalists. A stereo type :) Almost every article I read (when I was bored to death on subway etc.) looks like change of words via some template. Also, I really want to comment on some racist comments but corporate red tape was there. I could do it but a lot of work. So blogging rocks, journalism sucks. Power to the people :)
"Like journalists, there is no formal licensing or certification process for bloggers."
Unlike most bloggers though, the majority of journalists do carry with them an education in Journalism or Writing.
Granted, many great writers of the past had little or no formal education in the field.
I agree the skill of the blogger or journalist will be tested in the marketplace.
The journalist advantage lies in the assumed credibility of the mainstream media.
Even though a blogger may "break" a otherwise unreported story, if that blogger has no skills with his words, the story will be ignored for another reporting of the same event carried out with skill.
I think it really is a case of some bloggers have a inate journalist inside them, and that "journalist" comes through in their blog.
Other bloggers are more "author" inclined and write as a novelist or biographer.
The crossover and evolution between traditional journalism and diary blogging is more a matter what type writer joins the blogsphere, rather than the medium of blogging itself.
Did I make any new points or did I just repeat what you wrote?
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Funny you should post that, I just got my Saturday paper (Charlotte Observer) and a journalist had an article in there saying that Blogging is not truee journalism and to be ware...
I think a blog site like this is journalism since it helps draw out all facts and lets us post our own opinions without a traditionalist reporter picking and selecting what they want to create a "slant"
So yes I say it is unvbiased journalism
Posted by: ex-dd | May 16, 2005 3:10 PM