Journalogs or Blogalism

In Lasica’s article, “Blogging as a Form of Journalism”, blogging is seen as a type of creative journalism. When we think of journalism, the first thing we think of is not usually a creative outlet; it is seen to many as a way to get matter-of-fact information about what is going on in the world. So when reading Lasica’s article, it was refreshing to see some thoughts about how blogging sheds a new, fresh, positive light on journalism. Paul Andrews says that blogs are a way to give voices to many different point-of-views that may have been ignored if this form of journalism did not catch on with the public. Not only does it do showcase these new ideas, but blogging is actually becoming more credible than conventional media outlets (i.e. print, television channels, magazines, etc.).

Debra Branscum, who works for Newsweek, an established media channel, thinks that blogging gives a journalist more creative freedom. If one is writing for a “credible” news source, they are restrained by what the editor thinks is necessary for the source, or what the audience members might think of a particular story. If posting to a blog (more specifically, a personal blog), the writer has the freedom to write about what they think is important and have the ability to interact with their audience. If the readers do not particularly like the context or opinion of the blogger, it can be discussed through comments, what the issues are and have a meaningful dialogue between the writer and readers. To me, this makes the blogger seem, perhaps, more credible than say, Diane Sawyer. She seems to know what she is talking about during a telecast, but if people were to call her up during the news slot, and ask her questions regarding a particular topic, I wonder if she would be able to answer in a timely, eloquent manner. Maybe one could argue that journalists are different than news anchors and neither really needs to know what they’re talking about, just as long as they convey to us what is going on in the world, but I like to think that good journalists know what they are writing or talking about and are passionate about the topics. This goes back to the freedom of creativity that bloggers have. If they are able to write about something important to them, we can assume that they are trying to get as many facts and opinions and views of all sides about that subject and so, in turn, we get a lot more information out of their posts.