Stop Relying on Bloggers for News

Introduction

Cast back to how the Web used to be, with motionless pages and annoying animations, which appeared to be utilized in excess. The Web people utilize nowadays has progressed and altered, away from the initial motionless pages of Web 1.0 to far more dynamic variations of Web 2.0. This essay will focus on the role of the Internet and more particularly blogs that has been playing a significant role in the perceived trustworthiness of journalism and how the shift to Web journalism and the augmented phenomenon of blogging has influenced on the integrity and dependability of news.

Stop Relying on Bloggers for News

The article “Youth need to stop relying on bloggers for news” describes that in the 1960’s, journalists were the most dependable resource from which the US citizens obtained data on the outside globe (Hanson). Walter Cronkite was named the “most trusted man in the USA” due to the faithful coverage on controversial matters like the Vietnam War and the killing of John F. Kennedy. After his death in 2009, polls revealed which newscaster was worthy of succeeding his title. Out of Katie Couric, Brian Williams, John Stewart, and Charlie Gibson, Jon Stewart was named the “most trusted newscaster in the USA”. A showman, TV writer, comedian, and actor became more plausible than actual news reporters. So, Americans realized that non-reporters are more trusted than professional journalists (Hanson).

Some news are appropriate for conservatives, and some one are appropriate for liberals; but for those who fit in neither liberal nor conservative, it may be extremely difficult to discover the right news resource. This is particularly hard for youth that today merely discovers someone with the type of technological device, who feel the desire to give the two cents on the issue in a blog. It is often presupposed that the professional journalists have to be taught and meet some standards to write on the issue and deliver it to the globe; however, bloggers do not. They have the capability to be objective and take on any opinion, whilst reporters have to leave room for readers to create own opinion on the issue. This point is often overlooked but should be investigated by each reader when considering the trustworthiness of any source (Hanson). Unfortunately, consumers today are usually simply searching for some laughs and are failing to obtain any factual data.

There is an apparent dissimilarity between bloggers and journalists. According to Aprille Hanson, “consumers should never listen to bloggers and should not question the experienced journalists” (Hanson). A journalist is an individual who is qualified to report on a topic and, to the best of the capability, is attempting to provide the most factual data (to supply the truth). The blogger, conversely, is an individual, who is not qualified or trained and puts in a lot of bias in own work. Nonetheless, the writer of the article “Youth need to stop relying on bloggers for news” also makes readers question from whom people would rather get the data – a trained journalist or any blogger (Hanson).

In fact, no single resource of data is entirely dependable, though some go the additional lengths to be just that. The blogs are usually created by amateur reporters, who may be either more or less dependable than a professional newspaper, but lots of blogs are created for the mere aim of making cash from adds on the Internet page. Too often, blog entries are borrowed from other Web pages with practically no effort from a blog author. Generally speaking, it is important to question everything (Hanson).

There is no way to diminish bloggers in its many forms. As readers, people also share an accountability to be critical consumers of journalism. It is true that we can have too much of a good thing. For those people who merely prefer TV to get the news, people tend to have lower degrees of the political knowledge. The same concerns those, who just read newspapers or some other text-based resources. Analyses of information from two surveys reveal that using the mix of both television and print resources augments the political knowledge. By diversifying the media consumption, people permit the dissimilar outlets to interact with one another, assisting people in becoming more politically aware (Johnson & Kaye 315-333).

The Dependability of Citizen Journalism and Professional Journalism

There are lots of grounds why citizen journalism on the Internet is less dependable than conventional types of broadcasting. Anybody could place data to the Internet, and the sites made by individuals issuing the views usually appeared as plausible as those hosted by dependable sources. These Internet pages lacked the editorial oversight and did not have the social and professional pressures to provide precise and unbiased data. Also, the Web was endemic with rumors and propaganda, and some parody sites that looked like official Internet pages sprouted up on the Web (Johnson & Kaye 315-333). It means basically any person may evolve a blog and not be bound by the traditional journalistic laws and code of ethics. Nevertheless, blogs depict the events, which are usually not covered by conventional media. Johnson and Kaye suggest that due to this fact, users might consider Weblogs convincing as bloggers are “independent” and do not have connections to the corporate interests (Johnson & Kaye 315-333).

This lack of connections presupposes citizen journalists may repeatedly push the boundaries and describe more sensitive matters, which might normally be left alone. Pushing the limits of conventional distribution has sparked a legal and political reaction in some cases leading to the custody. “Reflecting the growing impact of Web reporting, more Web journalists are jailed internationally nowadays than reporters working in any other sphere… forty-five percent of journalists jailed internationally are bloggers. Internet reporters represent the major professional category for the initial time in CPJ’s prison survey” (Etling).

The trouble is that there is not one single approach to “do” citizen journalism (Johnson & Kaye 315-333). Citizen journalism is developing. The uprising in convergent digital technologies, deregulation of media and the increase of the Internet have opened up journalism to people in new and thrilling ways. Today, ordinary people may communicate with the international audience with a mouse click by submitting a video, writing a blog, taking pictures with a camera phone, and generally participating in the public dispute. This is good. Actually, it has re-energized journalism and media sphere and made them more democratic, open and vigorous.

But, it would be wrong to say that there is only one type of blogging. Also, it is a mistake to claim that people, who participate in it, are “more dependable.” Blogging and professional journalism harmonize one another, but they are not an identical enterprise. Every type of journalism has own place and worth. But blogging is not intrinsically more dependable than professional print, transmit or Internet journalism. The First Amendment guarantees the citizens the right to freedom of speech and a free press, without administration’s interference. Nevertheless, it does not guarantee liberty from the corporate principles or ideology. That is a huge trouble. Though the administration cannot impede with what news companies issue, corporate owners can and at times do. This is at the core of the dispute. People do not think media owners are dependable. Some think bloggers are more dependable due to the fact they are not obliged to the corporate interests. But does it presuppose that professional journalists, in general, are not dependable? No (Johnson & Kaye 315-333).

Professional journalists, who write and issue news, are required to systematically and carefully search out facts and dissimilar points of view and report them in the impartial and objective way. In conventional journalism, the reporters’ personal points of view are expressed just on the editorial pages, not in the news. Though some bloggers actually contribute newsworthy data either to news companies or citizen publications, many express individual biased opinions through their blogs. These personal points of view are definitely convincing expressions, but they mirror the writer’s individual opinion and are not conventional news reporting (MacKinnon).

Bloggers vs. Journalists

People are entering the period in which the professionals have lost the entire monopoly over the data – not merely the reporting of it, and also the shaping of what is significant for the populace to know (MacKinnon). Though it makes for perfect feature articles and blog posts, “bloggers versus journalists” does not actually assist people in realizing where the globe of journalism is going, where the Web is taking it, and what this novel revolution at times named blogging is about (MacKinnon).

Thus, the issue “bloggers vs. journalists” is over. It does not presuppose that they are not going to struggle anymore. Actually, the tension between the two will carry on. It is necessary and it is unavoidable. But probably readers should not see the two camps as enemies or opposites, it is clear blogs have some role in journalism. Readers only have to figure out what that is.

Conclusion

Journalism and blogging exist in a common media space. A ground why blogging versus journalism is over is that no one is leading the media space. People have to get used to living in one media space where bloggers and trained journalists are fighting for the same limited source of attention, depicting the same crucial matters and capable to reach the users. Citizens’ journalism is perfectly adapted to this novel globe. Blogging is well tailored to two-way negotiation contrasting to the one-to-many discussion that is also a part of the media change. And, naturally, blogging is not merely well adapted but natural to the Internet and is itself one of the objects of the Web. Probably, pure objectivity is not possible, but it is the task of the trained journalist to struggle for it and to reflect it in the work. Bloggers are also making a huge contribution to journalism nowadays. Probably, both professionals and bloggers may and should make a crucial contribution to the public discuss and renovate journalism in the process.