Blogging v. Journalism

In one of my classes, we have recently been discussing how bloggers and journalists are similar and different, and which rights (if any) bloggers should have in this age of new media. For the purposes of this post's length, I will not go into legal discourse on the subject, but I desire to incite discussion on the differences between these two sources. I am curious to know with whom the general public puts their trust.

Journalists:

• Receive training and education to gain field experience
• Have access to a large number of sources
• Receive backing by a news organization (such as the Wall Street Journal, the Chronicle, etc.)
• Subscribe to a journalistic code of ethics
• Ruin their career if they plagiarize
• Must appear unbiased in their writing because they largely report on facts
• Are assigned stories to report on by their news organization
• Make their money from the news organization itself

Bloggers:

• Are "free agents"
• Can be anybody - that is, a blogger may be a very educated, qualified person, but they may also be educated by the "school of life," so to speak.
• Are not backed by a news organization
• Can simply use a blog as their own personal megaphone
• Have access to an unknown amount of sources - they may have access to sources through their job, or they may only have access to what's on the internet (which is not always legitimate information)
• Have no code of ethics, other than a personal one, if applicable
• If a blogger plagiarizes, the worst thing they have to do is just take the post down, according to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
• Give opinions in their writing
• Write about subjects at their own discretion
• Make money from ads or endorsements

You may be asking yourself "why, then, should I listen to you, Sarah?" Well, that is really up to you to decide. I am a Senior Communication major at Texas A&M, and I want to establish myself as a writer. I am interested in legal issues, technological advances, and, more importantly, how they impact communication and relationships in our society. As a blogger, I promise to provide necessary citations of opinions and photographs that are not my own, because I want to be an ethical person. Not all bloggers practice such a form of credibility. If that is good enough for you, then you should continue reading my blog. If that is not enough credibility for you, then you can still continue reading my blog, because blogs are just opinions anyway; it does not matter from whom the opinion is coming.

The point is no matter what you read, it IS an opinion (no matter if it is blanketed by a facade of neutrality, or unabashedly biased.) Realistically, the differences in both disciplines do not matter so much as it matters that opinions are being shared. I personally believe that the world would be a better place if journalists were to come out with their opinion, rather than try to slip bits and pieces of it in as they can. If you fully disclose your inevitable bias as a journalist or blogger, it becomes more ethical for the reader, because they can understand the context of the opinion presented. Additionally, any writer has the choice to be forthcoming or not. Readers never really know if writers are being completely honest about their sources, opinions, etc.

Do not follow my blog because you simply like what I have to say; that is encouraging, to be certain, but it is not the reason for this blog. Follow me because you are interested in forming your own opinions more fully, and gathering more information about random subjects. You should not believe something because I tell you to believe what I do, and you should not believe a journalist because they are trying to appear objective. Be aware that ALL people come with a bias, and it is impossible to remove.

Thoughts?




I hope you will continue reading.


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