Busting on Anti-blog Bias

Popular blogger Eric Scoble recently defended the blogging industry at a Fortune conference to avid proponents of traditional or "old-school" journalism. As its his industry as well as his livelihood, Scoble defends blogging as a viable medium for journalism on a regular basis. He is slowly, steadily, changing minds. After reading his spiel after the conference, it is easy to see why he is making some headway.


One of the greatest criticisms of blogging as a mode of journalism or as a news medium is that there is no system of fact-checking, no mandated research. In fact any average Joe can post a blog and attempt to pass off their opinion as fact. Scoble counters that the beauty any blog is that its audience is the fact-checking mechanism. If a blog is credible, it will have an audience that will respond to posts quickly, pointing out inaccuracies and errors. He adds that errors are made in traditional journalism as well, despite diligent research. Corrections appear weeks or months later, if they appear at all. Another important point Scoble makes is that the media can be misinformed about a person's actions or beliefs, and often the person who was misinterpreted has no recourse against the media having a heyday at their expense. Conversely, with a blog, if someone feels they have been misrepresented they can go directly to the blog and tell their story, unedited and unfiltered.


I tend to agree with Scoble on most accounts. However even as a proponent I have my grievances. Above all I feel that there is room in the world of journalism for both traditional print journalism and for blogging. Both have their strong points as well as their imperfections, and at least for now, both are here to stay. It's time to stop arguing about their validity and instead work together to provide the world with savvy journalism.

A Dying Breed of Journalism?

I have been noticing an increasing amount of concern over the future of journalism. Society, as a whole, is increasingly turning to the internet, not only for communication or for entertainment, but for their primary source of news. In "Where's the Business Model for News, People?", Jay Rosen of PRESSthink discusses the future of news as we know it, or rather, as we knew it.

As I think back upon my last few encounters with cable news shows, I have to say that I am far from impressed. Gone are the days where investigative reporters bring us educational insight. Gone are the days where tv news spent a good percentage of its time on air with a reporter out in the field. Instead, what we find today is pathetically comical. Stations are desperately trying to cling onto the last of its fleeing viewers but enticing them, not with news, but with celebrity gossip and horrendous comedy. And speaking of losing, not only are viewers and readers leaving their respective cable news and newspapers behind, but according to Rosen, the advertisers are leaving them in the dust as well. He explains that it is only logical for the ad companies to follow consumers, thus leaving traditional news outlets without public or private funding.

What is news media to do? Rosen provides us with information on many new types of media formats that are currently being tested, and many successfully, by news giants such as The New York Times. If Rosen and "The Times" are correct, we can look forward to new media formats such as networked beat reporting, crowdsourcing, reverse publishing, and the "river of news." Add to that the increasingly popular blog sites, and the idea of Pro-Am and "citizen journalists."This is far from a comprehensive list," Rosen explains. Perhaps I am getting behind the times, but the more cyber-jargon I hear, the more I find myself longing for the simpler days of journalism.