This question was brought up among ChicagoNow bloggers the other day, and is one that the media industry has been debating for years.
Are bloggers journalists?
To a 19-year-old journalism major like myself, I assumed the answer was obvious. If you're telling the truth and doing reporting to back up your facts or opinions, you can consider yourself a journalist. Going on the Internet and ranting with lies, factual errors and libelous side notes? If you're doing anything along those lines, you're not a journalist. Plain and simple.
But much to my surprised, some of the bloggers said they considered themselves journalists, some said it depended on the circumstance and some said they definitely did not consider themselves journalists. It was an incredibly interesting discussion to have with other people who do the same thing as me.
When you hear today's media gurus talk about blogs and their online presences, they condescendingly refer to them as "The Blogs", implying they're shady forms of citizen journalism taking up space online to rant about whatever. There are definitely blogs that fit that description out in cyberspace, and as a reporter and a blogger, I can definitely say I don't consider those writers journalists.
But that stereotype doesn't have to apply to all bloggers. The way I see it, you can be a blogger and a journalist as long as you're backing up your information and reporting with the best obtainable version of the truth when necessary. If you're telling a personal anecdote, type away. But if you're referencing news and facts, make sure you've actually looked up the facts and gotten both sides of the story. Just because you don't have "traditional media outlet" stamped on your forehead doesn't mean you can't be a responsible journalist. Not to mention, a lot of blogs are outlets to talk about people's personal lives and tips, which many times only requires your own voice and mind and not a ton of background reporting. Some ChicagoNow bloggers even noted that a blogger can decide whether he or she wants to act like a traditional journalist or not.
Coming from a news reporting background as well as a blogging background, I see it as my responsibility as a journalist/blogger to cite where I get information and do background research when necessary. In those respects, I am acting like a traditional newswoman. After background reporting, linking and citing, I attach my opinion to the story/post, and that's when it becomes a blog, in my eyes. But as a journalist/blogger, I feel the best way to be responsible is by attributing my facts.
An interesting point ChicagoNow community manager Jimmy Greenfield brought up was that blogs don't have editors like traditional media outlets do. This is a really important point. However, even without an editor looking over a story and improving it, stories can still be true. But at the same time, I don't think anyone would argue an extra set of eyes with a strong journalism background would hurt a story.
I think the question of whether bloggers are considered journalists can be summed up by examining the difference between journalists and reporters.
The word "journalist" is more all-encompassing. Editorial writers consider themselves journalists, columnists consider themselves journalists and as we can see, many bloggers consider themselves journalists.
But when we're talking about the word reporter, I think you're going to find that most bloggers do not consider themselves reporters. Reporter is a title associated with news-gathering and reporting straight facts unattached to opinions. Comparing reporters to journalists is where the story is.
Especially being in the midst of my journalism education and after having discussions with other bloggers about how readers perceive journalists, I've come to realize we get too lost in our own world. For example, the topic of whether bloggers should be considered journalists seemed like a clean-and-cut answer to me, but as a journalism student, I'm immersed in journalism discussions all of the time with members of the media. We all talk about the way journalists and bloggers should act, but what matters is how they do act and how they are perceived by readers.
While journalists' and bloggers' perceptions on this topic matter, our readers are the ones whose opinions are equally if not more important. Do they see bloggers as journalists? When they read a blog, do they consider it news? Do they go to bloggers before or after traditional news sites?
All are topics worth considering. And in a day and age where more and more traditional newsrooms are downsizing, I think we can say it's up to bloggers to take on somewhat of a more responsible, reporting-based role online for readers. Journalism comes in different forms: opinions, personal anecdotes, facts with some sarcasm attached and more, but it ultimately comes down to whether a journalist is telling the best obtainable version of the truth or not, which will require some background facts in many cases. Are you? If so, to me, you are a journalist.
What do you think? Are bloggers journalists?
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I answered this on the blog, but...
Given that my own 19 year old is a journo major (at GW - she almost went to Mizzou; you could've been buddies) I see the training (both in putting a story together, the sourcing and the ethics) that goes into journalism, and I would never presume to call myself one. However, that's just because of what I've seen, plus I've never made my living as a journalist, just a published writer, which I don't consider the same thing necessarily.
You're right however, it's really more about what the readers think, although there have been legal cases recently where that didn't matter, - some bloggers weren't given the same protection (of sources) that professional journalists are, and in some states they were. We should probably find out where Illinois stands on this one.
Considering the horrible state of Journalism, I am surprised any Blogger would consider the appellation of reporter or Journalist something to be desired. I wonder where Rupert Murdoch would fall in the debate? Maybe we can tap his phone to fnd out.
I can see why you would say that from a blogger's perspective. Having come from a news background into the blogging world (while I'm still a reporter), I can definitely see reasons for desiring to be a journalist, still!