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Is Blogging a Legitimate Form of Journalism?
Blogging is Too Personal to be Considered True Journalism
While waiting to see my therapist this afternoon, I picked up the current issue of Newsweek. I've been mulling over this very post for days now, so I couldn't help but notice the article, "My Shrink Says… Blog."
Blogging "is a creative outlet," according to writer Jessica Bennett . "It's a forum to vent… To mental health experts, it's more than that: a blog is medicine."
I know, the fact that I'm reading this in the therapist's waiting room is very ironic. But I couldn't agree with Ms. Bennett more.
First, a little history:
I live online. I've written a daily blog for more than two years. I wake up in the middle of the night outlining my next post. Then, I get out of bed around 6 every morning -- before the kid rises -- to have my coffee and read blogs. I devour the Huffington Post and have written for the site. I get MomLogic.com Twitters throughout the day. You get the picture.
I'm also a journalist. After dropping about of college, I pestered a local newspaper until they hired me as a reporter at age 20. (I later returned to college and earned my journalism degree.) My managing editor was hard core. He demanded that I triple-check sources and go to the "scene of the crime" when possible.
I learned the rules: how to research and verify sources, how to use correct grammar and spelling. This is what a journalist does.
Bloggers not do make the same tough, tiresome effort that journalists do. I don't know a blogger who fact-checks or verify sources, do you? You're lucky enough to get through a blog without running into a misspelling or grammatical error.
Bloggers do not strive for accuracy. Bloggers write to vent -- and to share some link love, if they're generous.
This is precisely why blogging is not legitimate journalism. It's all personal. You can call someone an a-hole. You gush about your last date. There are no rules in blogging to prove you're accurate. There is no managing editor to keep you in check.
No, I'm not talking about the horde of "news blogs" out there, like MSNBC, Fox News, San Jose Mercury News. These are news outlets which run online copy of news stories that have been (hopefully) fact-checked. I'm talking about your Dooce-kind-of blog, which is a creative outlet.
When the University of California at Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, which is right down the road from me, started offering a blogging course in 2002, I thought it was ridiculous. A blogging course should be offered in computer studies -- not in the journalism department.
Granted, journalism as we've known it over the last few decades has changed dramatically -- and I'm all for change. Reporters everywhere are questioning, "Who is a real journalist?" That's their job. The Media Bloggers Association is dealing with many headaches on this issue. No doubt, the Internet has changed journalism forever.
Now, if you want to know why I still need to see a therapist if I'm blogging every day… that's another post altogether.
No, Rachel Sarah did not verify any facts about her ex-boyfriends when she wrote her book, Single Mom Seeking: Play Dates, Blind Dates, and Other Dispatches from the Dating World.
But her ex-boyfriends occasionally wonder if she's completely accurate about the facts on her blog, www.singlemomseeking.com.
Blogging is Cutting-Edge Journalism
Blogging is not only legitimate journalism, it's the cutting edge of journalism! It's reported by the hour, by the minute, sometimes by the second. There is no other way to disseminate news faster and more efficiently to a wider audience than blogging, not to mention all the linking and surfing you can do to research your subject of choice further. There is no limit to the information you can communicate through blogging. If that's not journalism, then I don't know what is.
If you really want to know what is going on in the world (ie: the NEWS), you either need to subscribe to about 80 newspapers (and good luck finding ones from third-world countries) or read about a thousand blogs every day! I vote for blogs. I've never been a fan of inky fingers.
"In the multitude of ideas there is truth." I don't know who said it. I've long forgotten all the dates and names I memorized so judiciously for that History of Mass Com class that I got a "C" in back in college but the statement has stuck with me through time. You cannot get a clear picture of the world by listening to the five o'clock news. Stations are politically slanted, stories are picked up and dropped in order fit schedules or bow to local political pressures. If you really want to know the truth you can find it, right here on the internet, one blog at a time.
Blogging may be considered "gonzo journalism" with its use of the first person and tendency to take tangents off in unpredictable directions but that is exactly what I like about it as a news source and I think that's what Americans want and need right now too. The old-school style of reporting is classy and efficient but it's lacking that personal element to hold an audience. There is so much effort put into form and trying to please an audience it has lost its down-and-dirty level with the truth.
I had the privilege of talking with the vice-president of Merrill Lynch the other day. When I mentioned that I was a blogger he laughed and told me that blogs are actually quite important to them as investors. "If you really want to know how a company is doing," he said, "you read blogs about it. You can read their annual report, you can talk to their vendors but you'll find the truth in blogs. By the time you hear insider-trading news from your hair dresser or taxi driver that's the time to sell." Good to know, I say. Even the experts are reading blogs to keep their finger on the pulse of what is important and happening now.
On another level (one that I'm ashamed to admit I'm a bit of an expert on) what about gossip blogs? These days when I hit the checkout line at the grocery store, I rarely even glimpse at the tabloid headlines. It's old news! Lindsay Lohan's dating a girl? I knew that months ago. What a waste of paper. Save a tree and read a blog.
Blogging is where it's at. I don't even watch TV anymore. Between commercials and the never-ending lead-up/rehash of headlines that take up more time than the story itself, I've long gotten bored and left the room.
So maybe Hollywood gossip is not your thing. I wish it weren't mine. But that is yet another beautiful thing about blogging. You find the news that fits YOU. You like to read happy news? You want a puff piece about your local library or crafts to do with your kids on a long summer afternoon? Let me lead you to a few blogrolls. If you're reading this, you already know what I'm talking about.
Blogging is about community. Journalism is the process of collecting and publishing news for the community--but blogging takes it one step further. It adds discussion. Editors might take a back seat and you might have to put up with a few more typos but I dare you to read a blog about abortion or depression or breastfeeding and not appreciate the variety and well-thought-out opinions that take place in comment boxes.
If journalism started back in olden times with villagers leaving messages for each other on trees in common meeting grounds, then blogging is just an extension of that. Blogs (which are really just journals) are a way for people to fill the need to communicate with each other. Blogging is journalism, it just looks different.
Brenda is an artist, illustrator, and secret agent living in California. She is also a beloved and renowned blogger, you can find her at www.secret-agent-josephine.com/blog.
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Mom2Rylie 12th Sep
All
blogs
are
not
created
equal.
Would
you
compare
Newsweek
with
The
National
Inquirer?
Both
magazines,
but
vastly
different.
Blogs
tend
to
be
opinion-based,
from
what
I
have
seen.
Very
few
are
actually
well-researched
works
of
journalism.
I
would
be
hesitant
to
get
my
"news"
from
such
a
source.
eleanor 11th Jul
hi
rachel,I'm
more
of
a
broadcast
journalist
but
I'm
into
print
journalism
which
is
really
my
passion...I
agree
with
you
when
you
say
that
blogging
isn't
a
real
journalism
which
we
know
is
something
we
learn
from
Journalism
course
with
proper
on-the-job
trainings
that
well
sometimes
started
with
just
making
a
cup
of
coffee
for
the
editors!!
Journalism
is
an
art
and
a
science.
It's
a
tough
profession
and
here
in
the
Philippines
the
fourth
state
is
media
profession.It's
a
profession
that
requires
mind
and
heart
and
even
soul
to
connect
with
audience
and
readers.It's
a
passion
that
pays
and
with
a
mission
to
share
and
deliver.
But then, I find blogging as a form of easy and light SMALL TALK over matters that we do everyday. As I enjoy reading and sharing, I believe it's a form of creative and positive forum of emotions of people who want to share and care. It's the part of journalism that tackles the human drama and emotions and well a form of feature in journalism industry. it's like encouraging our readers to impart and give feedbacks on what we write...and in not so serious talks...but educating us, entertaining us and informing us.
squandra 10th Jul
@Ghost:
Plenty
of
bloggers
do
check
their
facts,
but
the
question
for
the
audience
is,
"How
do
I
know
the
blogger
I'm
reading
is
among
them?"
Professional
journalists
are
both
trained
and
required
to
do
so,
and
their
audience
can
depend
on
that.
The
same
is
not
true
for
bloggers
across
the
board.
Michele 10th Jul
As
a
marketer,
blogging
to
me
is
self
serving
of
the
blogger.
Its
an
op
ed
piece.
Although,
don't
shoot
the
tool
-
the
blog.
I agree with Rachel. Journalism is about facts, accuracy. A journalism piece represents information in an unbiased manner allowing the reader/listener to make up their own mind. Blogging is generally a marketing and propaganda outlet. Or, a way to connect and have a public diary. I think blogs can be an outlet for journalism, but with all the opinion out there from blogging, it's shot down the value of the tool. You can say that news shows today aren't journalism either when they sport a political or other agenda. They try to tell you what to think. Again, the newspaper, tv, radio, or website is a tool. Many times they are true to journalistic values. But there appears to be a real change even in these venues. I think there is a real art, structure, and integrity to real journalism that the majority of time is not a part of blogging. It is a shame that bloggers that try to stay true to this are discredited by a lot of hear-say, opinion, and hidden agendas. Sometimes it is nice not to always have, "Listen to me! Hear what I have to say!" I think journalism in its true form is about, "Do you want to know something? What do you think of that?"
Leah 10th Jul
I
agree
with
Brenda:
blogging
IS
journalism,
it
just
looks
different.
That
said,
I
also
think
it
is
(and
should
be)
used
differently
by
its
audience.
I
would
never,
for
instance,
rely
on
only
one
or
even
a
handful
of
personal
blogs
to
get
the
most
accurate
information
on
a
current
event
that
is
also
being
covered
by
professional
journalists
with
credentials
and
teams
behind
them,
just
the
way
I
wouldn't
rely
solely
on
The
Colbert
Report
for
my
news.
Every
source
has
if
not
an
agenda
at
least
a
limited
p.o.v.,
and
I
believe
that
the
best
way
to
get
the
most
complete
story
is
to
hear
from
multiple
sources,
and
multiple
TYPES
of
sources--from
CNN
to
the
concerned
citizen
down
the
street
blogging
from
her
laptop
in
bed--and
take
all
of
that
information
into
account
(albeit
to
varying
degrees
considering
the
source).
So
although
I
would
never
count
on
blogs
to
be
my
sole
source
of
news,
neither
would
I
rely
on
just
"professional"
journalism.
Even
the
little
voices
have
something
to
add
to
the
discussion--whether
bloggers
or
their
commenters--and
I
think
to
discount
that
is
to
discount
the
community
at
large.
Bok 9th Jul
As
a
TV
journalist
I'm
firmly
in
the
"blogging
isn't
journalism"
camp-
unless
of
course
it's
a
journalism
blog.
I've often struggled with definitions of what makes a journalist, and after several years of making current affairs TV I've made up my mind. The distinction is not just about spelling and grammar (neither of which apply to TV). Journalism is governed by media law, ethical codes and- in the case of the BBC, where I work- very strict editorial guidelines concerning neutrality, accuracy and fairness. Crucially, we can and should be held accountable, by law and by our audiences, for the stories we tell and how we tell them. This is what governs our content and this is what makes us journalists.
Single Mom Seeking 8th Jul
The
Ghost:
Thanks
for
pointing
out
that
every
journalist
needs
a
good
copy
editor,
too.
I just proved my own point re: making grammatical errors when you're writing a rushed blog entry (which this is). Thanks! So, yes, to one who "fact-checks or verifies sources..." And: "After dropping out of college..." All
media
and
news
outlets
are
expressing
an
opinion.
Anyone
who
has
ever
read
People
Magazine
(pretty
sure
the
writers
would
call
themselves
such
"journalists"),
or
watched
Fox
News
knows
that
media
outlets
express
opinions.
Even
the
New
York
Times
and
CNN
have
a
slant.
Sometimes
you
have
to
read
between
the
lines
to
see
it,
but
often
it's
clearly
there.
Bloggers' personal connections to the stories they cover often only add strength and passion to their writing, rather than diminish the reality of their findings and experiences. Plenty of bloggers also check facts, and plenty of them get their stories more accurate than a local or national newspaper might. Every local newspaper I've ever subscribed to has an entire section devoted to mistakes, and apologizing for them. Mistakes in reporting and spelling and grammar that are made every single week, by myriad journalists. It's also interesting to me how in a pro-journalist article boasting statements like "I learned the rules: how to research and verify sources, how to use correct grammar and spelling. This is what a journalist does," and, "You're lucky enough to get through a blog without running into a misspelling or grammatical error," one can also find sentences boasting misspellings and grammatical errors. Like this one: "I don't know a blogger who fact-checks or verify sources, do you?" Or this one: "I'm also a journalist. After dropping about of college..." Ah, how I do love me some situational irony.
Secret Agent Josephine 8th Jul
After
I
wrote
this,
I
thought
of
all
kinds
of
holes
in
my
argument
and
really
I
think
it
all
comes
down
to
how
you
define
the
word
"journalism"
itself.
Blogging
may
not
be
up
to
today's
standard
of
journalism
but
I
think
someday
it
will.
I
think
blogging
is
going
to
be
a
big
chapter
in
the
history
of
journalism.
Kristin Darguzas 8th Jul
Carly,
Rachel
Sarah
is
a
journalist.
carlyf 8th Jul
I
don't
think
there
is
a
legitimate
argument
on
either
side
unless
it's
performed
by
actual
journalists.
True journalism is the unbiased reporting of facts, using several different sources. If there is a parallel in the journalism industry to blogs, I'd say personal columns are the closest. But those are just that -- someone's personal opinion about something. As Brenda says: Blogs...are really just journals. (Yes, I am a bona fide, trained, cynical Canadian journalist of 15 years. And yes, I blog, too. But I've never called it journalism.) |
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