How is Blogging Different from Journalism?

“…when a blogger tracks down sources, does investigative reporting, and presents the facts clearly and fairly, that is journalism” (Friedman). In journalism, there is a process of checking for sources and multiple editors look over the writing for grammar and biased opinions, etc. Many of these writers have gone to school and have a degree related to journalism.

Through the internet, on the other hand, blogging has become a place where just about anyone could express their opinions. Anyone meaning those without degrees in journalism. Blogs have been associated with pure opinions. It can be said that it is less rigorous in source searching, reporting, and presenting facts. Blogs can be spontaneous. A blogger who witnessed an incident can post it right away before the journalists can because they have to go through editing and researching process. For example, Jack Tapper is ABC’s whitehouse correspondent. He publishes fresh stories on his blog “prior to hitting it on TV, and frequently breaks news that never airs on TV” (Friedman).

However, the term sensational journalism pushes journalism beyond mere unbiased and factual presentation of information. Some journalists and journals express opinions in more colored lens. Some of the examples include “Huffingpost, The Daily Beast, Politico, FiveThirtyEight, Gizmodo, and  TheNextWeb” (Friedman). To these sites, Friedman from The Next Web comments, “I’m glad that some of my former colleagues are over there and that they’re getting paid to write, but I don’t consider it journalism” (Friedman).

Good bloggers and posts, however, may be just as good as the journalists and articles. “Good reporting is good reporting no matter if it can be found on a piece or on a computer screen or a TV on a stone tablet. Good  reporting includes well-resourced, reliable material presented in a captivating way. Many blogs seek to include this type of content, as do many websites” (Friedman). Biased journal articles and good blogs, thus, blur the line between journalism and blogging.

Friedman, Jacob. (2010). “Blogging vs. Journalism: The Ongoing Debate.” The Next Web. Retrieved from http://thenextweb.com/us/2010/08/18/blogging-vs-journalism-the-ongoing-debate/