Intro to Blogging and Journalism

You might be thinking: “I’m not going to be a blogger once this class is over, so this doesn’t matter to me.” Or you might be a blogger and not have any intention of writing stories that could be considered journalism.

But this issue should matter to you.

First, there is an issue of fundamental freedom. Do you really want this country to go down a road that basically equates money with free speech? If a blogger breaks a story, shouldn’t they receive as much (or as little) protection as a journalist who has the backing of a large corporation? Don’t think of it in terms of importance– everything is news, and so important, to someone.

Second, blogging is just the most visible form of participatory media where this question is being considered. What about all the other ways that you participate on the web– not just stories, but pictures, conversations, descriptions of sites, etc. Free speech– and ownership of these piece of yourself– is still open to many questions. If we don’t actively consider the questions so we can be aware of the issues and make good decisions now, someone will make them for us… and they won’t be speaking for you or for me!

Third, as I mentioned in the introduction… blogging is affecting mainstream media in very direct ways, not just in the stories that are reported and how those stories are reported, but also through exposing systemic biases and flaws– and strengths– that in the past we paid less attention to. Blogger or not, reader of blogs or not, it’s an important area to at least be aware of.