Are bloggers outclassing journalists?
I’m always comforted when I read someone who is more long-winded than I am. Such is the case with Whet Moser’s discussion of the state of journalism for the Chicago Reader.
Moser makes the interesting point that bloggers now often outclass newspaper journalists in terms of expertise and writing skill. He cites Glenn Greenwald and John Cole as irrefutable examples. Both are far more thoughtful, knowledgeable and engaging in their subject areas than the usual reporter or columnist.
As for the future of print media, he cites RedEye, the most widely read paper in Chicago, a free-circulation daily created by the Chicago Tribune:
It was pitched as training wheels for a real paper, but it has no editorial voice, or, as far as I can tell, mission. Its news is imported from Mother Tribune and the AP. Its columnists and bloggers seem to have no interest in local or state issues, especially political issues. It’s sterile, a sterility masked by its tightly edited cleverness, and not just because of its overwhelming celebrity and sports content. There’s little of the marrow of city life to the paper. It doesn’t feel like a city, it feels like a focus group.
Not exactly an upbeat essay but well worth reading.
There are 2 Comments to "Are bloggers outclassing journalists?"
As a journalist major, I think bloggers are setting the tone for journalists. Bloggers are able to get information out faster than journalist and add their opinion to the piece, while not having to worry about their companies opinion. I think blogging and bloggers is just one way the internet is giving average people a new voice.
i don’t think that they are because most blogs are just about personal feelings and bloggers usually stray away from worldly and political issues. Journalists report the facts along with some personal views nut they usually stick to the facts. Like the previous person said blog sites just give the average person their voice.