Bloggers Are Blazing

... new trails in the media.

Even though I've spent the past 16+ years or so with a career in technology, I do have a degree in Journalism and have been trying to find a way to get back to my writing roots. One can't really call themself a writer if they don't write and despite the same resolution every year, I just never got the motivation or inspiration to do much of it. So, even though I am no bigtime blogger with a wide reading audience, this is my way of making good on my resolution, brushing up on my old craft and making sure that I write - something - everyday.

My personal reasons for blogging aside, it seems that:

Blogs have drawn attention to political stories that more established media outlets then report on, and exposed flawed journalism by those same newspapers and television news programs. But some at the gathering said they face a near-constant struggle to establish the credibility enjoyed by professionals.

'Things get picked up by bloggers that take awhile to get picked up by the mainstream media,' said Mark Glaser, a columnist for the Online Journalism Review who writes about Web logs. 'Bloggers have to start from scratch in building trust.'

Glaser noted the importance of bloggers in tearing down CBS News' election season story about President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard. The constant barrage of questions and charges from the Web kept heat on the network until it admitted a mistake in relying on what turned out to be fake documents.

Mindy McAdams, a University of Florida journalism professor, applauded bloggers' efforts but urged them to adhere to ethical standards held by mainstream journalists.

"Our credibility is suffering with so many people rushing to publish things without checking them out," McAdams said after Cox's speech. "Blogging is really great. I like that more and more people have a voice. That's good ... But it doesn't give people who call themselves journalists an excuse to not check out the information."

I think blogs may end up being quite the force over the next four years of the Bush administration. He and his friends had better watch their backs!