Bloggers v. Journalists

To say that all bloggers are journalists is like saying that all quadrilaterals are squares. Without being too technical or geometric, certainly some quadrilaterals are squares, but some are rectangles, some are trapezoids, or parallelograms, and the list goes on. Simply because someone publishes words, or, in any case, makes them public, that does not make them a journalist. The main difference between a journalist and the everyday blogger is the purpose in sharing the published information. According to Poynter ethicist Bob Steele, the principles of journalists are to seek the truth and report it as fully as possible, to act independently and to minimize harm. There are certainly some bloggers who adhere to this set of ethical codes, or ones similar to it, but many self-published commentators are not concerned with reaching mass audiences or how their postings are perceived by the public.

Blogs have a unique accessibility because they are readily available and give every writer a chance to voice their positions, perceptions and ideas, with the possibility of an audience. Traditional journalism, however, prizes a lack of bias and strives for balance in storytelling, having a particular focus on not only telling both sides of a story, but all sides. Blogging allows for commentary, editorializing and utter disregard for any point of view aside from that of the writer.

Blogger and journalist Chad Graham writes for The Arizona Republic and blogs for its online business section. Graham said that the best thing about blogs is that they have the space and license to offer analysis and some opinion, without being a full-on editorial. "Journalism is becoming more opinionated overall, and readers want that," Graham said. He views the average blogger, that is one unattached to a mass medium, more as a commentator as opposed to a journalist, unless that blogger is collecting and reporting original news.

Mass media employing blogs as a new form of communication to online users becomes useful for breaking news and more entertainment and features-minded coverage, both of which are suited to smaller posts and frequent updates. Because they are using blogs within their sites, which also posts traditional articles, ethics are more important than ever for major newspapers and television stations that have web sites. Separating themselves from bloggers without ethical codes is paramount to remaining trusted news outlets.

Based on the precedent set when video blogger Josh Wolf was held in prison for refusing to give up tapes of a violent protest that he shot, bloggers who do not have a major company backing them are not journalists. Taking pictures, video or any other type of recording and posting or commenting on it does not make someone a journalist. Therefore, not all journalists are bloggers, and certainly not all bloggers are journalists.