Professional journalism vs. blogging (Group 4)

The discussion on whether blogging truly qualifies as journalism is definitely a noteworthy one in terms of analyzing how exactly readers determine the validity of the words read in these various sources. However, in terms of establishing the standards that qualifies an information source as one rather than another, I think its a somewhat pointless game, especially given the sort of person that tends to follow blogs online.

As was discussed in the reading, it is apparent that the blogosphere has a certain form of internal policing that allows for readers to differentiate between trust-worthy information and smut. In many ways, I would argue that this policing has found more of a home in blogging than in the print realm, as ridiculous "news sources" such as FOX News, or more locally, the Mendota Beacon, are able to get away with writing practically whatever they please under the facade of "journalism", regardless of how well researched or written the work is.

Bloggers, however, know that they do not have a "captive audience". Given the relative ease of starting a blog, if bloggers truly want their words to be read, they realize that they won't get away with poor writing and reporting for too long before someone calls them out on it, or at the very least, simply stops reading. This policing is allowed by services such as Bloglines, and the comments that can be posted on entries, as well as the ease of forwarding URL story links to other individuals, rather than needing to have the physical print copy sitting in front of you.

Blogging allows for an international playing field of information consumpion in a way that is much different from the traditional journalistic framework. In many ways, however, I feel that it holds true to many of the traditional journalistic "values" than what journalism has become today. That said, I don't consider it journalism, but why does it need to be? It's simply another avenue for information-seekers to take in their quest for Truth.. Maybe with more options out there, people will have a better chance at (feeling like) they've achieved just that.