Are Bloggers Really Journalists?

Are blogger's in fact journalists? The vast majority of blogger’s are ordinary people who use blogs for what they were originally intended, as an online journal. This blogging phenomenon is constantly evolving. Some people now use blogs as zines and newsletters. Blogging exploded onto the scene during the 2004 elections for political commentaries of the presidential candidates. Now there is talk of proposing a law that would give journalists special privileges, and that these privileges might not be extended to Blogger’s.” So are blogger’s really journalists? 

One could argue that the “true journalist” is that person who works for one of the elite media companies, such as the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale or the New York Times. These people say that a “true journalist” has to report to someone, like a senior editor.

A journalist is a person who practices journalism, the gathering and disseminating information about current events, trends, issues and people. Reporters are one type of journalist, who creates reports for broadcast media companies such as newspapers, television, radio, magazines, documentary film, and the Internet. They find their sources for their work typically through investigative techniques such as interviewing their sources, analyzing the facts they have gathered, and reporting in the most objective and unbiased manner to serve the public good.

With blogger’s exploding onto the scene, journalism has become a hypercompetitive profession. It is this hypercompetitive nature that has forced many journalists to use smear tactics for the sole purpose ratings. Many of these so called “true journalists” will attack anyone with whom they disagree. Look at what Alesandra Stanley of the New York Times who wrote an article about Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera during hurricane Katrina. She wrote that Geraldo nudged a rescue worker out of the way so he can be in the shot. That came out to be blatantly false, and the paper never retracted the story. In fact, she demanded that Geraldo apologize to her.