Blogger vs. Journalist

Thanks to all the folks (all two of them :)) who have inquired about my blog and why I haven’t posted for a while.  Just needed a bit of a mental health break to recharge the batteries and get myself going again.

I have been debating the subject of my “return” post and then stumbled on this article from FastCompany.com today.

In a nutshell it uses Technorati’s regular “state of the blogosphere” survey to unearth the latest stats on bloggers, who they are, how much they earn, etc.  All to try the answer the question that we at THP and others in the PR industry are constantly struggling with, “What is the difference between a blogger and a journalist?”

So many people may say, why should I care?  For a PR pro there are many reasons:

– What are the rules of engagement?  Bloggers want to be pitched and treated like journalists no matter what their sphere of influence is.  Do they deserve that right?

– Bloggers can say pretty much whatever they want to say without the normal journalistic “check and balance.”  Who is holding them accountable?

– In some cases, the old media “pay to play” trick (you pay and we will mention or give a favorable review to your client/product) is being used by bloggers.  Is this a good thing?

In the article Kit Eaton takes a swipe at trying to make a distinction between bloggers as those who write online in a self-absorbed manner and about minutiae, and an online journalist as someone who acts more…like…well…a journalist.

As a PR pro my experience with that so far is, if only were it that easy for us to tell the difference.  In many cases, some of those who fall into the category of bloggers as described by Eaton want to be considered in the same breath as say well-known bloggers like environmental blogger/journalist Andy Revkin of the New York Times’ Dot Earth.   Believe me it happens.  I live this new-found reality as a PR person every day.

I wish the line could be drawn that clearly.  Until then we will all struggle with this vague world of online journalism that is still learning to police itself.  It has better do that, before the government (FTC, Supreme Court) feel compelled to step in.

Thoughts?