Blogging & Traditional Journalism

Blogs pose several challenges to traditional journalism:

(1) Bloggers aren't bound by a code of ethics or by industry standards, so they have fewer restrictions on their means of gathering information, and their information does not have to meet journalistic standards in order to be published. As a result, traditional journalists can be 'scooped' by bloggers. On the other hand, information published by bloggers may prove to be unreliable.

(2) Many blogs that focus on politics and the media seem to be made up of a core group of people who provide the majority of the posts and comments, which are then read by a much wider audience. Core group members are often able to devote hours every day to monitoring and analysing traditional media coverage. These critiques expose a broad audience to a deconstruction of traditional media, without providing an opportunity for journalists to present their side by explaining their choices or outlining the challenges they face and the conditions that limit their work.

(3) How savvy is today's blogging audience? Readers may not understand the differences between blogging and traditional journalism, or be able to recognize which blogs meet journalistic standards and which do not. Even when readers do, will they take the time to confirm the source of information posted on a blog? Can a source always be found on the web?

I think blogs that are published by traditional media should attempt to educate readers about these issues.

Autobiography

Who am I?

I'm a student at Shippensburg University. My major is Communications/Journalism with a Print Media emphasis. Currently based in Harrisburg, I was born in New York state and grew up in New Zealand.

I'm exploring the field of communications, and although I'm not certain which career path I'd like to pursue, I chose the print media emphasis because I thought that solid writing skills would be important in any communications position.

I'm a creative person who is energized by ideas, who likes to make connections between seemingly disparate areas, and who relishes the challenges of problem-solving and strategy development.

Why am I here?

To learn the web stuff. On the "computer". The computer-web stuff. I don't have much background in this.