Adam Cohen at New York Times (May 8, 2005) thinks so since more and more they are writing journalism.
He makes some interesting points, but he doesn't identify what makes a blogger into a journalist. They are really all over the map, from what I am doing here at a free blogspot blog to what Markos and Josh Marshall do in their blogs.
Cohen mentions that some bloggers work for campaigns and no one knows about it. Markos carefully pointed out on his blog that he was working on network efforts in a campaign prior to the election, but not all bloggers do this. But Daily Kos and Talking Points Memo are very close to being actual journalistic efforts.
I am doing what I do for nothing. Free. Nada. I don't call people I write about to get their comments because I can't afford the phone calls. I am not a journalist, any more than David Brooks is. We both write opinion, trying to put things into perspective. Of course, David Brooks gets paid for his efforts, so he should be more careful than I need to be.
Don't like what I write? Leave a comment and I'll see it. Write David Brooks and it is unlikely he will see it. I'll respond to those who want me to and leave the necessary data. David Brooks won't. He doesn't have the time during the day.
So - what is a blogger journalist? How do we differentiate those who need to sign on to a code of ethics and those who don't?
Frankly, I couldn't afford to do real journalism. The phone bill alone would kill me. But if someone wants to subsidize my investigations, I'd be glad to sign on to a Code of Ethics. I have a few projects regarding the Texas Legislature that I'd like to work on and need to make some calls, particularly on the Texas Ethics Commission - Ronnie Earle issue.
So a lot of bloggers can't do formal ethics for reasons of cost or time. They aren't journalists. But what if I got my subsidy? Would I then become a journalist subject to a code of ethics? And suppose I was, then finished the project. Do I then drop out of the category of journalist-subject-to-code-of-ethics?
Do I put a flag on my blog? Items of journalism cause me to raise the flag (This is covered under Code of ethics) and items that I write that aren't under the code of ethics cause me to bring the flag down? Because this is a very fulid medium.
I don't know. But don't kick me off the blogosphere because I am not a journalist. I just play one on the internet.
Addendum May 11th
Well, I feel that my opinion above has been confirmed. The great blogger, DemFmCT posted a comment that confirms my idea that the problem is to determine who is a journalist, not to try to paint all bloggers with the tar of journalism and smear them with not meeting ethical standards of journalist reporters.
Not, mind you, that journalists today are bound by any perceptible code of ethics. See this.
No comments:
Post a Comment