Is blogging considered to be a form of journalism? Obviously the answer to that question, hinges entirely on what you consider “journalism” to be. Disregarding all blogs as cheap sensationalism, or the misguided, overly emphasized opinion of a zeal few (such as Perez Hilton) would follow a similar pattern of logic that allowed a “newspaper” such as The National Enquirer to represent the standard of journalistic integrity in the mass media.
Of course this doesn’t mean that all blogs have journalistic integrity, but to ignore an entire movement that allows for a two-way discussion would be seriously detrimental to the public sphere. The fact that blogs have become so simple to use, with relatively few entry barriers (aside from owning and being able to operate a computer) represents a tremendous breakthrough in “citizen journalism” and the growing popularity of blogs as sources of information marks a victory for the public sphere.
As the old adage goes “two heads are better than one” the mere existence of blogs to monitor larger news conglomerates can never be a bad thing. Even if blogs were viewed simply in a “watchdog” capacity, the more checks and balances put in place should theoretically result in a higher quality of news from larger conglomerates.
I enjoyed reading your post David, I think you raise some valid points about blogging and journalism, with respect to the question of "is blogging considered a form of journalism"
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of journalism, naturally I think of true stories, facts, and concrete evidence. I also think of writing style that is professional and tailored to the certain newspaper or media outlet the journalist works for. However, this is not to say that in today's society with the trend towards digital and social media as a prominent vehicle for communication that blogs are not a form of journalism. I would not agree that journalism has to be "mainstream" and therefore, I recognize blogging and appreciate webblogs as "alternative journalism".
David, you speak of blogs like Perez Hilton as being, cheap, sensationalistic and completely overemphazied and I couldn't agree with you more. Although I may contradict myself in saying this, as I occasionaly visit this blog, it has no journalistic value. By this I mean it has no relevance to world issues such as economics, poverty, natural disaster, politics or health care to name a few. Not that every informative blog must have relevance to these issues, but I think these are a few examples of significant journalistic material
I think the fact that so many have access to using blogs truly is a "breakthrough in citizen journalism." I think there are many more people in our world with a voice that actually have something significant to say. I think it is so critical that so many people have access to the internet and webblogs, as it is now one of the fastest ways to get ideas, values and beliefs out to the public. Citizens are able to build off one another, and in some cases I believe are a stronger union and voice than the mainstream media.
I think the idea of citizen media serving as a "watchdog" to the massive conglomerates is also critical to the rise of the new media in the public sphere. Often times, I think conglomerates will "choose" not to release certain information, or have their PR agents "spin" stories or information a certain way to favor them. With active citizen's staying abreast with current issues on a local, national and global level, allows them to put conglomerates in their place if they can catch a small error in their journalism.
I think the rise in digital and social media has been extremely positive as it has vastly expanded the public sphere, and allowed so many individuals access to a means of expression and an alternative voice.
Nicole let me start by apologizing for the late response! I'm fairly new to blogging and apparently didn't have all of my alerts activated.
ReplyDeleteObviously I couldn't agree more that the "watch dog" capacity for social media and blogging is essentially to a democracy. And even despite notions of credibility, the very existence of blogs may make a mass media outlet think twice about withholding information or glossing over some of the details.
Technological breakthroughs have done wonders for our global communications, and our ability to have news at the touch of a button. But, at the same time it's also given large news conglomerates a huge advantage regarding their influence over the public. More and more, we're seeing press releases and advertisements for products being presented as news.
At the very least, the existence of social media can both spark conversations that lead to investigative journalism, at the same time as getting "news" back on track to it's core fundamentals. Exposing the truth not plugging for the new ford hybrid...