Blog Entry 1

Dan Gillmor wrote, “Technology has given us a communications toolkit that allows anyone to become a journalist at little cost and, in theory, with global reach” in We the Media (Gillmor, xxi). The technology of which Gillmor wrote is the advent of the Internet and all it has brought for media: podcasting, news aggregators, and perhaps the most contentious new medium, blogging.

Through personally managed websites that organize and store essays, a blogger has the power to disperse his or her thoughts and feelings from continent to continent. More than personal stories, however, bloggers can record and distribute observations, insider’s information, and political scoops. While potentially important news stories such as these have been, in the past, the express territory of newspapers and magazines, they are now entering the realm of the digital. Observations by any lay-person can be inflated beyond their actual worth and streaming live to literally millions of computers—and viewers—in seconds, regardless of any truth or merit on the part of the information (not to mention the writer). Misinformation in these cases can be especially damaging in several arenas—including political campaigns, confidential government info, and news media in general. Several "watchdog" websites are set up to monitor instances of misinformation on the Internet (i.e., Wikipedia Watch).

There is, however, a brighter side when it comes to online journalism as it is represented by blogging. Information which normally would never see the light of day (as a result of editorial “gatekeepers,” censure laws, or government action) has a place in blogging, and a team of people dedicated to allocating this information to people whom they believe deserve to know it. Truthdig, for example, provides important insights regarding politics and environmental news that may be considered too leftist for publication in mainstream outlets. The fact that is has a place on the Internet means that it is accessible by literally tens of thousands of people every day. This type of news, and others, can influence citizen-powered movements (i.e. protests) and can, in some cases, effect actual change on the government level. Gillmor illustrates a wonderful example of this in We the Media: the comments made by Trent Lott at Senator Strom Thurman’s 100th birthday in 2002. Lott, who hearkened back to Thurman’s 1948 presidential bid with regret that the segregationist senator didn’t gain the presidency, was ridiculed by bloggers with astounding force while his comments went virtually unnoticed by major news media. “Webloggers and other online commentators, far more than mainstream journalists, kept the story of Lott’s remarks alive despite the major media’s early disinterest (Gillmor, 44).”

While blogging of this nature can be extremely valuable, the aforementioned misinformation can create large problems for both bloggers and readers alike. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether or not a canon of standardized rules will begin to accompany online journalism in the form of blogging. Ideally, these rules would help readers and critics separate the truth from instances of misinformation in the blogosphere. While blogging can not only provide crucial insights to government and political activity and share differentiated life experiences across cultures, it is also fraught with pitfalls that could be readily avoided by a conscious discriminatory effort on the part of audience. Blogging as a form of original journalism is, in my opinion, too dangerous to be relied on for fact, yet too accessible and convenient to be entirely ignored as an important medium.

First Assignment, due end of Sunday Oct. 5

1) Create blog account on blogger.com or another online blogging service
2) Write 500 - 750 word blog: Do blogs constitute original journalism? Use specific examples to prove your point and link to at least 3 other blogs/websites.
3) E-mail URL of blog and bring in printed copy.