Bloggers vs. Journalists: The Irrelevant Debate

Traditional Journalists make their name by working their way up to the top of mainstream media outlets and therefore their viewers and readers assume they can trust them. Or at least that's the way it used to be. Some Bloggers are in the practice of journalism and frankly are better at it than some "traditional journalists." Anyone can claim they are a blogger, but only some bloggers receive respect as journalists, usually seen in the large readership and commentors. Government regulation of who is and isn't a journalist seems impractical. Bloggers/journalists being allowed into closed door meetings can only help the diversity of news media consumers have available to them. I just don't see much harm coming from this situation. The world of journalism has become a battle of legitimacy, but really seems to stem from a fear of bloggers by the mainstream/traditional journalists and the politicians who are used to having them on their side.

Trackers, those who are hired by one political party to follow the other around, may not be necessary to democracy, but shouldn't be stopped either. Technology has given us the ability to watch anything we want in real time, this means we can now hold politicians responsible no matter where they are giving a speech in the country. I don't really see a situation where this could turn into a bad thing. If a politician chooses to put themselves out in the public by running for an election, then they now must realize that means almost 24 hour coverage of what they are doing and saying.

Technology is here to stay and will hopefully give us a more transparent system of government and hold politicians to a higher standard.

Consumers Speak Out

Travel consumers starting to utilize blogging explaining their mishaps while traveling is forcing airlines and hotels to react to the criticism. I think it's interesting how all of a sudden an average citizen has their own soap box that can immediately have an affect on bigger companies like never before.

Outsiders on the Inside

I thought that meeting Mark Finkelstein, from FinkelBlog, was an interesting experience. The thing that he said which stuck with me the most was about being an outsider, in terms of the media world, yet still being able to build relationships with the people on the inside. He talked about corresponding with people like Jake Tapper from ABC News and sharing ideas about what is going on in the media. I thought this was a great example of how the news media was evolving into a two way conversation rather than the producers only speaking in a downward direction to news consumers.
The more ideas can flow in both directions, the more everyone benefits. Plus, people on the "outside of the club" can add fresh perspectives and will most likely see things in a different light. I enjoyed that a lot of the time conservative and liberal bloggers were on the same side when it came to criticizing the mainstream media, even if some of their ideology behind it was different. All of this adds to a diversity of ideas which seems to be one of the main pillars for new and evolving independent media.

Kittens Inspired By Kittens

This is way better than the cheezburger site. Here you go, check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtX8nswnUKU