Saturday, March 28th, 2009...1:24 am
Is blogging journalism?
A colleague of mine asked today: “Is blogging journalism?”
She was helping her step-daughter write an essay, an assignment for a college ethics course. Two co-workers and I jumped in to answer the question to help my colleague assist her step-daughter.
I found the question compelling because it goes to the very heart of this battle between the old journalism and the new journalism. (The wired versus the tired, some people more clever than me call it.) So many journalists today seem to have intense anger directed at blogs, which they see as a looming enemy that is trying to corrupt journalism.
But, in my opinion, blogging isn’t the threat to journalism — fear of change is. As Charles Darwin explains:
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”
(By the way, I wish I could take credit for knowing that quote. I can’t. I culled it from a blog comment on the Nieman Journalism Lab and verified it at Think.Exist.com.)
My answer to my colleague and to you is: “No, blogging isn’t journalism.”
Blogging is no more journalism than e-mail, Twitter or even newspapers or TV stations are journalism. They are tools — ways to disseminate information, ways to help people connect with their world.
In a PressThink post from 2004 that rings true today, New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen describes bloggers as “speakers and writers of their own invention, at large in the public square. They’re participating in the great game of influence called public opinion. And they’re developing, mostly through labors of love, what I’ve called an extremely democratic media tool.”
Using that definition, which I like, blogging isn’t journalism, but journalists can blog. In fact, as a tool, blogging is particularly suited to journalism because it can help journalists connect and understand their readers better.
I believe the blogosphere is big enough to include journalist bloggers — now dubbed beatbloggers — nonjournalists, quasi-journalists, the proverbial guy sitting in his basement typing in his pajamas. I don’t fear the blog.
What I fear is the fear of change. What I fear is the fear of an open debate about the evolution of journalism. What I fear is journalists missing out on a bright future because they can’t imagine a world that is different than the one they know.
That’s what makes my blood run cold.
The way we practice journalism today is far from how it was practiced 200 years ago. A Wall Street Journal book review of “Scandal & Civility” explains that the American press of the 1790s stoked the flames of the post-revolutionary age with its bitter battles between emerging political parties. The press in those days was passionately partisan and mean-spirited, Marcus Daniels’ book contends.
I bring this history up not because I am not suggesting that we revert to the journalism of the early days of our nation. I bring this up not because I advocate we abandon the principles of today’s journalism and play ” fast and free with details” — a phrase I borrow from one of my commenters — in the blogosphere.
I bring this up to make the point that the only constant is change. Journalism 50 years from now will be different than it is today in the same way that journalism 50 years ago was different than it was in the 1700s.
We can accept and embrace change and be part of the forces that shape what journalism evolves into. Or we can dig in our heels and insist that journalism never change, though it has been evolving for centuries.
Blogging has changed journalism, but it is not journalism. Blogging has given people, regular folks, a voice they didn’t really have in traditional media, or that they had in only a limited way.
Blogging is a medium, which has routines, the normal way of doing things that are evolving right now. In the same way news writing is less formal than academic writing, blogging is less formal than news writing. (And microblogs like Twitter are less formal than blogging.)
Blogging is a tool — one of many — that can help journalists and writers of all types connect with readers, communicate information and help people make sense of our increasingly complicated world. Blogging won’t solve everything, and in five, 10 or 20 years or sooner, something may replace it. And, hopefully, journalists will embrace the “something else,” too.
What do you think?
– Gina
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I'm Gina Chen, a 20-year veteran newspaper journalist who is studying for a communications Ph.D. I want to see journalism survive. I believe news organizations need to embrace new media, change their thinking, improve their content and innovate. Read more about me 
39 Comments
March 28th, 2009 at 2:59 am
gina – clint eastwood had a great line in ‘bridges of madison county ‘ … ‘i like change. it’s the only thing you can count on,’ or something of that kind.
my thought on bloggers and traditional journalists is this: the story, whether on paper or electronic, is the metal stake you drive in the ground. the facts (usually) are accepted, and bloggers then react or interpret those facts, using the stake as a way to stay grounded. sometimes, of course, bloggers also break news, but that news is given universal purpose when it spreads to a traditional mass news provider; and thus the functions become complementary. remove one, the other suffers.
sean
March 28th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Sean,
First, thanks for stopping by.
Like you analogy about the metal stake you drive in the ground. I think there is plenty of room for journalists and bloggers, and, as you point out, they can complement each other.
– Gina
March 28th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
the goal is to have a journalistic process that can survive the blogging nightmare.
its difficult to read the tea leaves…but as you say blogging is not journalism, but it is the seeds for a more open journalism.
give it a couple of years and help raise the standards of the bloggers. we will be better off without the despotic corporate overlords.
March 28th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
I read your blog every time you post. I think you have a fresh yet smart way of explaining controversial matters. And usually I agree with you.
I’m tired of shallow comments criticizing bloggers and new technologies as the killers of journalism. Is a pleasure to read a colleague who realize that in order to survive we must accept change.
The problem is that a huge number of journalist doesn’t master the new tools of communication (like blogging) and therefore they feel in danger and they react condemning the unknown.
Hope I made myself clear. My English is far from being perfect
March 28th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
@eric –
Eric,
I agree with you that blogging is in the relative infancy stage. I think it will open the door to a new open journalism, and I believe that’s a positive change — or can be — depending on how we manage it.
I suspect the bloggers we see 10 years from now will be professionalized in ways we can only imagine now.
– Gina
March 28th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
@Matias –
Matias,
I’m glad you visit this blog frequently!
It is hard for many people — including myself — to accept change, but, as you point out, we must learn to. I think many people paralyzed by change and that defeats them. I try not to let that happen to me.
– Gina
March 28th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Excellent column.
My thoughts exactly.
>We can accept and embrace change and be part of the forces that shape what journalism evolves into. Or we can dig in our heels and insist that journalism never change, though it has been evolving for centuries.
Right.
There are always new avenues and ways of learning and growing. Staying in a bubble -in any bubble -isn’t the way to go. The proof is out there.
Thanks again for this.
March 28th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
When I read “Is blogging journalism?”, what I’m hearing is the fearful question, “Can bloggers replace traditionally trained journalists?” Which answers itself, because I think we know by now that news companies are indeed replacing their journalists with part-time bloggers. Not in quality, but replaced nonetheless.
It happened at my former employer. Those of us in editorial were asked to find people in the community to agree to contribute (for little-to-no pay) to various blog pages as part of the initiative toward a digital transformation (the company is in bankruptcy proceedings.) That’s just what we did. And then three of our editorial staff, myself included, were let go. (Yes, we each blogged multiple times a day, so it wasn’t a matter of old-school journalists refusing to change with the times.)
As you write, blogging is a tool. A wonderful tool that you, me and many other journalists have embraced. And blogging at times does fall within the realm of journalism. But for many publishers and even editors, producing high-quality journalism isn’t the issue anymore. Cutting costs is.
You talk about the fearing the fear of change. But it doesn’t matter what new tool of communication journalists embrace. News execs will always find someone else who will use that same technology for next to nothing.
March 28th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
@Catherine –
Catherine,
Thanks for your comments. I’m a strong believer that we control our own destiny. Want to be happy — decide to be happy or change your life so you can be. The same applies to journalism; if what you’re doing isn’t working, change. It’s simple but hard to do.
– Gina
March 28th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
@Anthony Salveggi –
Anthony,
First, I’m really sorry you were laid off. That stinks.
I think you bring up an important point. It doesn’t help any if the journalists in the trenches try to change, embrace new media, connect with readers, attempt to reinvent journalism if the higher-ups don’t.
And when I say journalists need to stop fearing change — I’m talking about the top managers, not just the reporters and editors at the bottom. If the higher-level managers don’t embrace the reality of a new journalism, nothing their employees do can save a newspaper, the media, journalism. That’s incredibly unfair, but it’s reality.
I do think that people in the trenches embracing the new journalism helps — if they can convince their higher-ups of the value of changing the business. But as you aptly point out, in too many cases, more effort and focus goes to short-term cost-cutting than really reinventing news organizations, which might save it long-term.
I share your frustration. I do believe in time some news organizations will get it — some already have — and there will be jobs again for people who know how to gather and put together information. At least I hope, so.
– Gina
March 29th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
So Blogging isn’t Journalism, If that is true, and I’ve yet to be convinced of that, What are the essentials of Journalism that make it different to Blogging?
March 29th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
@Anthony Salveggi –
I’m thrilled to see an article that articulates what’s been swirling around my head like this one does about blogging and the crumbling world of journalism. What makes the blogosphere so amazing is the authenticity we’re able to experience, I’m not saying all blogs are that way… but when you discover people who have found the tools available online to voice their stores, share their passion and thoughts you get as close to the truth as you can get. I believe in the checks and balances of journalism. Unfortunately I think journalism (too much of it at least) has become entertainment.
As Anthony mentions in his comment above cost cutting and compromise by executives effects those of us just trying to do a great job and be proud of our work. I left my career as a television producer last year and started producing content for a website and now for my own blog. The web has given me a venue to tell my stores and hear from my audience like never before. The question is, where’s the money? There is so much FREE content out there that it’s a challenge for a seasoned professional to get compensated a fair rate. User generated content is everywhere and as soon as we can figure out how it can be profitable there can be more fairness and hopefully balance in all venues.
This is only the beginning of the change that is ahead for content creators and consumers. Twitter, Facebook, Digg all these web innovations are becoming mainstream. Now is the time to learn, adapt and make changes.
Thank you for this article and conversation… and to @jayrosen_nyu for tweeting it.
–sukhjit
March 29th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Is newspaper writing journalism?
My own fear is that folks who ask “is blogging journalism” are asking a leading question. They are missing that it’s not about the medium, it’s about the content.
So to the question: “Is newspaper writing journalism?” I’d also answer “No.”
March 29th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
‘Is blogging journalism?’ Were the journals of Louis & Clarke journalism? Was the Travels of Marco Polo journalism? Of course, those were journalism. Indeed, world-changing journalism.
The presence of journalism is a question of content, not format. Just because many blogs are about their authors’ cats doesn’t mean that someone can’t instead use a blog for journalism.
Those traditionalists who think that nothing but the inverted-pyramid style of journalism can be journalism are incredibly short-sighted (both in terms of history and journalistic palette). They remind me of hidebound traditional artists who in the 1800s said impressionalism wasn’t art. Or the narrow-minded rectors of the Middle Ages who said that if a story wasn’t written in Latin it can’t really be literature.
March 29th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
@Ceebs –
I think you miss my point. I’m not saying that blogging isn’t journalism. I’m saying blogging is just a tool, like newsprint, like a video.
I believe some blogs are very much journalism — and some very much not. I also think some videos are very much journalism — and some very much not.
My point is that don’t fear the medium, use it as journalistic tool.
– Gina
March 29th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
@Marc –
Marc,
I’d agree with you because the point of my post is blogging is just one of many media that can be used for journalism — or not.
– Gina
March 29th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
@Vin Crosbie –
Thanks for making my point better than I did.
Your examples illustrate what I’m trying to say. Some blogs are indeed about someone’s cat, and some are journalism and some are sort of in-between perhaps. I think there’s room for that, and journalists need not fear a new medium because sometimes it is used for nonjournalistic purposes.
– Gina
– Gina
March 29th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
@sukhjit –
First, my thanks also to Jay Rosen for tweeting this post.
I think you raise some really important points. For example, you say: “Unfortunately I think journalism (too much of it at least) has become entertainment.”
Totally agree there. I think the news media, in its scramble to attract the homogeneous mass audience it used to enjoy, has in some cases dropped standards to cater to the lowest-common denominator. That’s a mistake. To take the argument to the absurd extreme, newspapers might succeed by just running sports and porn, but they would fail in their most important mission, which to me is being a government watchdog, helping readers make sense of their world and giving voice to the voiceless.
You also mention the economic factors. Indeed that’s the problem. The Web can’t make the high profit margins that newspapers enjoy from print advertising. (Profit margins that were higher than many other businesses.) So how do you pay for quality.
I think the answer is we keep looking for ways to monetize. I wish I had all the answers to that — and if I did I’d be worth a lot more financially than I am. But I do think the brainpower exists among journalists, journalism profs to figure this out.
– Gina
March 29th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
Wonderful discussion. Here’s a link to an essay of mine that covers much the same ground.
http://www.bu.edu/cdaly/whoisajournalist.html
Many of these issues are developed at greater length in the early chapters of my book, which are available as PDF files on my website:
http://www.journalismprofessor.com.
Cheers,
Chris Daly
Boston University
March 29th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
@Chris Daly –
Thanks for the link to your essay and your book. Will check it out.
– Gina
March 30th, 2009 at 5:02 am
[...] at the foot of her essay “Is Blogging Journalism”. You can read her write up here. My answer is, “Nope. Web logs are a variant of plain old communications.” Before I [...]
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Depends on who’s writing and the depth of time, effort and knowledge poured into a post. Can a blog be a source of journalism? Absolutely. I’m kind of angry that it hasn’t been regarded as serious until very recently.
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:33 pm
There are two issues which needs to be defined before deciding if blogging is journalist:
#1. Is blog a discussion based on personal or borrowed opinion? If yes, it seems like editorial in any newspaper or magazine
#2. Does journalist is the person who graduated a school of journalism or special cources only? If not, then every professional and enthusiast of particular market (social media, politic, economics, motorbikes etc) can write.
My answer is yes, blogging is a journalism based on personal opinion and first impressions of the reality (remember the conflicts when both countries are blocking the information)
April 2nd, 2009 at 8:16 pm
For the past five years I’ve written a business leadership column for my local paper. When I started writing the column, I also started writing a blog. What my experience has shown me is that journalists view their journalism credentials from the vantage point of being a part of the institution of journalism. Bloggers who approach their writing in a reporting or investigative mode consider themselves journalists because they are practicing what they perceive as the art of journalism. They are mimicing journalists because you still are the gold standard for what constitutes public writing.
Though I was paid a nominal sum for writing my column, until recently, I never assumed that I was a professional journalist. I made no pretense of such because I didn’t make my living at it. But I do know that there were people who continued to subscribe to the paper simply because my column was it in. I only know this because they told me so. The lines between the amateur and the professional were blurred in my case, and the benefit went to both the public and the paper.
If journalists want to fight a battle with bloggers, go ahead, and you will lose. The internet has ceded the high ground to those who defend the spirit of journalism rather than the institution. You are fighting a battle that your readers don’t care about. They want honest reporting and comment that informs them about the issues that affect their lives everyday. Both journalists and bloggers are serving that purpose.
What you should do is embrace the blogging community and call them to higher standards of reporting and articulation. The genie is out of the ink bottle. People are reading blogs to get the information that matters to them. The more you embrace the spirit and social context of interactive journalism, the more likely it will be that journalism will rise in respect and admiration by the general public.
April 2nd, 2009 at 11:46 pm
@Stuart Foster –
Agreed … a blog can be a source of journalism, or not.
– Gina
April 2nd, 2009 at 11:53 pm
@Ed Brenegar –
Very well said. I agree with what you say, and I think one point you make is especially important: “The internet has ceded the high ground to those who defend the spirit of journalism rather than the institution.”
I fear too many journalists are wasting precious time defending the institution and not the spirit. That’s exactly why I started this blog — to try to sway that trend.
I know many journalists who think us Internet-embracers are sell outs who want newspapers to die. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I’d be happy if newspapers stayed around forever, but I’m a realist, and as such I think energy is better spent moving forward than trying to stay in the past.
Thanks for adding some valuable ideas to the conversation.
– Gina
April 3rd, 2009 at 6:02 am
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April 7th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
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May 2nd, 2009 at 8:31 am
[...] activists and the people they’re supposed to reach. Just as blogging has opened up the field of journalism to any member of the public, now anyone can become an activist without really being that active at [...]
May 7th, 2009 at 6:30 am
Is blogging journalism?
i am not a blogger or “journalist” however I read the news…
Now if journalism is about providing citizens with news and current affairs then I don’t see the difference with a blogger, unless the blog is about someone’s personal life.
Before the internet, journalists were the ones looking for news, but now with the Internet – social networks and blogs people can be the news. So in other words people are becoming journalists because they are also providing us with the news using tools such as “blogs”.
In my personal opinion, I don’t care if the news I am reading is from a professional writer, as long as I understand the article and message then that is good enough for me.
So if journalism is about someone who can write in a professional way then many bloggers aren’t journalists.
But if journalism is about providing the community with news and current affairs then yes bloggers are journalists.
At the end of the day both report “the news”.
Maybe the question is, are citizens becoming journalists by using new web tools such as blogging? then the answer would be “yes”
I hope my comments made sense.
I also enjoy your site, great content.
Cheers
May 7th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
@Mark –
I agree with you: “But if journalism is about providing the community with news and current affairs then yes bloggers are journalists.”
I’d ad to that that “some” bloggers are journalists. There are so many type of blogs — some aren’t trying to report or provide news. Some are. The ones that are, I think, are journalism.
June 4th, 2009 at 6:38 am
First kudos to this website and a great post by Gina.
Journalism is also the analysis of current affairs, and the follow up of existing stories, and to that extent, bloggers obviously contribute, whether they consider themselves journalists or not.
But someone actually finds the first story, whether they are called Lewis and Clarke or Woodward and Bernstein. Someone has to go somewhere, often physically, and communicate with a human being, face to face, in order to establish a relationship, analyse the source and the info. Then they have to test it in against their colleagues in a place of confidentiality. And if the story is big, they have to do it again and again. My point is not to romanticise, but to underline the cost of journalism. It sometimes takes a lot of time, committment and money. It also requires leaving your computer.
Physical presence and the editorial discussion is a vital part of journalism, and an element often overlooked by the “journalism is dead – long live journalism”-proponents.
December 6th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
@polak I dont think you understood this correctly…
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