Blogging is journalism. I would have said otherwise and I would not have agreed had I not heard Professor Rolando “Rolly” Fernandez, Philippine Daily Inquirer Northern Luzon’s Bureau Chief, discuss the issue. He considered blogging as journalism and he also posted a question that has been a source of debate in our class: “Who and what is a journalist anyway?”
We had a class discussion on blogs as an emerging form of journalism. Well, I thought otherwise. There were some points raised that in able for a blog to be considered as journalism, the writer who owns it should at least belong to a news organization [just like he has to be part of one for him to be considered as a journalist]. The topics or the content of the said blog should also be “journalistic” in nature in a such way that it has to have social relevance. Same sentiments that I had. I also thought that there really should be a thin line that separates the writers or the bloggers from the real journalists.
But after the talk, I could not help but consider it as one. After all, Sir Rolly said that it can also be a source of information for journalists. Yes, perhaps it is indeed journalism. Its advent did not only pave the way for online discussions but also, it made tasks easier for journalists and other people who wish to convey their ideas and opinions regarding matters of public interest. Bloggers can just go online and talk about issues that people need to know. He also gave an example about a journalist who posted her work in the internet and got more feedback online, than feedbacks on her column printed in a newspaper. Somehow, it also gave way for interaction between a journalist and his readers to clarify some issues of the article written. However, blogging should also be concerned with legal issues as pointed out by our speaker [Sir Rolly]. It should not be all about writing whatever one wants. And yes, I could not have agreed more. A blogger should always be responsible for the things he writes because he will never know how it would affect his readers.
We had a class discussion on blogs as an emerging form of journalism. Well, I thought otherwise. There were some points raised that in able for a blog to be considered as journalism, the writer who owns it should at least belong to a news organization [just like he has to be part of one for him to be considered as a journalist]. The topics or the content of the said blog should also be “journalistic” in nature in a such way that it has to have social relevance. Same sentiments that I had. I also thought that there really should be a thin line that separates the writers or the bloggers from the real journalists.
But after the talk, I could not help but consider it as one. After all, Sir Rolly said that it can also be a source of information for journalists. Yes, perhaps it is indeed journalism. Its advent did not only pave the way for online discussions but also, it made tasks easier for journalists and other people who wish to convey their ideas and opinions regarding matters of public interest. Bloggers can just go online and talk about issues that people need to know. He also gave an example about a journalist who posted her work in the internet and got more feedback online, than feedbacks on her column printed in a newspaper. Somehow, it also gave way for interaction between a journalist and his readers to clarify some issues of the article written. However, blogging should also be concerned with legal issues as pointed out by our speaker [Sir Rolly]. It should not be all about writing whatever one wants. And yes, I could not have agreed more. A blogger should always be responsible for the things he writes because he will never know how it would affect his readers.
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