This week saw a small eruption in that corner of the blogging world where professional writers operate. It began with a post by Nick Carr, though Blogcritics preceded it with a contribution from the BBC.
What the debate you're about to hear tells you is that a lot of people are learning to write headlines. Contributions in declining order of snappiness and suggestiveness were: Trust Me I'm A Journalist; Why We Needs Blogs and Newspapers; A Glass House; and the more mundane but accurate Journalistic Standards in The Blogosphere.
What was it about? Nick Carr contends that Michael Arrington's TechCrunch and Arrington's own commentary are fatally flawed because of a conflict of interest — Arrington invests in some companies that TechCrunch covers. Specifically says Carr, Arrington's support of blogging as opposed to journalism is open to criticism, for that very reason. Arrington does not respect journalistic standards but his own are compromised.
So Carr wants to talk up journalism as opposed to blogging.
This is the line Kent Newsome quotes: "When it comes to conflicts of interest, or other questions of journalistic ethics, the proper attitude that we bloggers should take toward our counterparts in the traditional press is not arrogance but humility."
And Newsome's own endorsement: "To do otherwise is to claim a position of superiority that is ludicrous on its face. Blogs have many advantages over traditional print media. Let's not obfuscate them with illusions of grandeur."
This morning Matthew Ingram reminded us: "So yes, bloggers have some things to learn from traditional media when it comes to disclosing conflicts. But traditional media darn well has plenty to learn from bloggers as well — and I for one am glad we have both."
Some stock-taking is needed.
1. News media operate through commercial compromises that do alter what would otherwise go into news programmes and newspapers. It's part of the game. Perhaps news media have become increasingly less critical - at least that's the theory for the rise of the radical right. Others would argue investigative journalism has died. Beyond that though, it's always been this way.
Article comments
1 - Howard Dratch
Interesting post and I was waiting to be put in my place for even daring to write of current affairs from the blogosphere where everyone is invited. Instead you wrote fairly that it may all yet fit together into some new sort of whole.
8. There is no viable form of income yet for bloggers who have a liberal humanist outlook - your best chance of earning money is first in the field with tech news, parenting or cooking. It's a Long Tail world after all. Bloggers need to test their willingness to compromise for income.Still,
Too late for me to learn to be a techie, to start parenting although I do cook and haven't spent much time writing about it -- is there a market for vegetarian Mexican/Chinese/Mediterranean dishes do you think -- with low salt and fat?
I must remind you, just in case too many hope to become rich journalists, photographers, videographers, etc. that the "compromise for income" starts at the beginning. If you want to be rich, investment banking, financial wheeling & dealing and illegal activities are really the better avenues than anything creative.
Sad, ain't it?
2 - haydn
Hi Howard, as always a level headed comment. I'm putting something up on blogcritics that looks at classifieds and the hope of income there - be interested in your views when it comes out.