Monday, October 12, 2009
Should Bloggers Be Considered Journalists
I'm formulating an abstract for a paper that questions the idea that bloggers may or may not be credible sources when compared to that of journalists. I first made some noted ideas about the make-up of the quintessential journalists. They are the what we consider an educated and well versed individual. They have a formal education where they studied writing and critical evaluation to earn a degree stating that they are a professional in their field of study. this would give us the reassurance that we can believe what they report to be true. This gives the journalist that reliability to report information that is worth reading. the blogger on the other hand does not appear to have these credentials. Basically to us they are just an anonymous individual whose education level is unknown. This brings up questions that we can primarily ask ourselves. Does a blogger (or can a blogger) get the same respect a journalist can? Now this does not mean that they are not an expert in their field. We just have no proof that they are. Sometimes they are faceless citizens who offer only what they know based on instinct. But they can also be educated individuals who exceed that of a journalist. Now will this idea change in the near future and will bloggers gain this respect? They can be very similar in that they observe and report information, we just wonder if they merge at any level.
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I'm pursuing the same topic for my paper, and I've already discovered sources that address the difficulties citizen journalists have in garnering respect, not so much from their readers, but from their sources. It seems that some people are hesitant to talk to citizen journalists or grant them media access privileges because of their nonprofessional status. See, for example: Fanselow, J. (2008). Community blogging: The new wave of citizen journalism. National Civic Review, 97(4), 24-29.
ReplyDeleteThe formal education issue also informs one of my central questions. Like you, I agree that most citizen journalists are likely educated, competent, responsible individuals. And even professional journalists may not be "experts" in their field, despite their education. But formal journalism training introduces concepts central to the profession (ethical and legal issues) that might not be recognized by those without such training. This seems to be one of the issues that causes members of the traditional media to question nonprofessionals' credibility.
This seems like a tricky question...for me blogging is somewhat new. From what I have seen it is average people posting anything they want, and it seems crazy. As for professional bloggers...I guess it depends on what they blog about that would make them respectable or credible. Blogs I have seen are for fun, but blogging as a career seems kinda weird. You are right that people that are professional journalists do seem to have more credibility under their belt, as they seem more informed from their educational status. But to be a pro in blogging compared to a journalist, they do similar things, they tell people interesting things. But for me to take a professional blogger seriously, it seems that they would have to be educated in what they are informing, having some kind of degree that related to what they are saying. I wouldn't expect an engineer to go off on a tangent about athletic shoes as a new trend haha. As for bloggers to gain more respect in the near future, who knows. Personally I don't see it that way, I still don't see it as professional, but time will tell.
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