Journalism vs. Blogging

• Journalists are defined by what they produce; bloggers are defined by the technology they use.
• So how can we trust blogs? By the evidence that they give for what they write, and the quality of that evidence. Curiously, many professional journalists still expect users to trust them without showing their own evidence, and that leads to suspicion.

Another difference between journalism and blogging; How about accuracy?

• As the premium is on speed, accuracy check has to come later. How many times have you noticed breaking news on CNN saying there are 6 dead, then 30 minutes later changing that to 9 dead, then another hour later changing that to 15 dead, etc. The mainstream media also have to make corrections if their initial reports were inaccurate. There is nothing new about that.
• Professional reporters will be able to enter a press briefing and interview the officials. This is more difficult for bloggers to do, but that is changing fast – bloggers are getting press passes more and more these days. On the other hand, an eye-witness will be more relaxed and open to a neighbor with a cell phone than with a reporter shoving his/her microphone in your face and shouting questions.

Bloggers are more and more treated as journalists, given press passes and given journalistic privileges, some of them will be able to report news just as well as the traditional media, and since they do not have the space and time limits of radio, TV and papers, they can make both their summaries and their complete reports as short or as long as they want, with as much supporting documentation as they can find, and the audience will pick and choose what to read according to their own levels of interest.