Global Survey: Blogging journalists, two cultures collide

Posted by Lauren Drablier on October 16, 2008 at 8:28 AM

In a recent survey, 200 blogging journalists from 30 different countries were interviewed about the effects of blogging on the process of journalism. According to the survey, respondents came from all sectors of the news industry; almost half worked in the newspaper industry, and one third were online-only or freelance.

The survey found that as of 2008, 70% of US newspapers, 85% of UK news organizations, and 44% of European news organizations were offering journalist-authored blogs.

For blogging journalists, blogs have disrupted the traditional processes of journalism in a number of ways; stories are now guided by reader feedback which means that there is a shrinking role for editors now that writers have immediate access to readers, there is an increased emphasis on multimedia, blogging journalists have access to a broadening range of contacts and sources for stories, and there is an ever increasing need of speed.

"Of particular interest to this research is what has happened to journalistic processes in this meeting of cultures, particularly as some theorists have argued journalism is in a process of adapting in the face of technological, social and economic changes."

"Blogs, for example, are typically opinionated, while US journalism at least aspires to objectivity (this is not the case in the UK, blogs treat the audience as a co-creator, while traditional journalism treats them as a passive recipient; and whereas blog journalism is incomplete and fragmented, traditional journalism is structured and closed."

Source: Reuters, Online Journalism Blog