DISQUS

Guido Fawkes · 2 years ago

Well said. Next student who emails me will be directed here.

Linda · 2 years ago

That's an excellent rundown Martin and one I think I will read and re-read.

Do you remember when I did my piece saying that wannabe journalists shouldn't think that blogging was the be-all and end-all for a career in journalism and it caused a ripple of criticism from those more in the know than the likes of me?

Well, months later and having launched my own blog on a specialist subject the thing that I still find hard to swallow is this notion that because the "conversation has moved on", people like the student you have just helped, or me, a journalist of nearly 20 years' standing, can still sometimes feel "outside" of the conversation - who is to say what that conversation is and where it's going?

Rightly or wrongly, I find there is an elitism among the 'old school' that can seem quite distasteful - like say someone who was a fan of a major band before they hit the big time and for that reason feels they can look down on anyone who asks questions or prefers the "newer stuff."

Experience has taught me in recent months that yes journalists and bloggers can be one and the same thing, but still there is massive antipathy in some quarters among both camps.

Online spats about whether bloggers should have a code of conduct, or should be more respectful of media law, show that despite the convergence of the two, there for the time being at least, remains, in some people's eyes, quite a gulf.

Now I really should be watching Dancing on Ice so I'm off. Thanks again for this, it is very useful.

Martin · 2 years ago

(Linda is referring to this criticism of an article she wrote last summer.)

Dave Lee · 2 years ago

Interesting point about the improvements to blogging software. Blogger.com has a nifty drag and drop designing feature... I can see later versions of Wordpress etc giving the option to do something similar.

David Cohn · 2 years ago

Wow. Great post Martin. I particularly like your thoughts on the role that social bookmarking sites will play (those people become trusted sources of under-reported news) and the future of networked journalism.

But overall -- this hits it right on the head. The debate is not only over. In many ways it never existed: "Blogs are just a publishing technology, which can be used for distributing any type of content, including journalism. Some bloggers are journalists..."