Are Bloggers Wannabe Journalists?
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I was over at SF Gate reading an article about the Microsoft-Yahoo on again, off again relationship when I spotted this:
The only thing clear is that if journalists - and bloggers who consider themselves journalists - are supposed to be providing clarity on the situation, they’re failing miserably.
That one comment, and bloggers who consider themselves journalists, caught my eye. I personally have never considered myself a journalist by any sense of the word. I am a blogger, plain and simple. I post what I believe will interest my readers and make comments as to what I think.
I believe my position is not to report the facts, but to comment on the facts as presented by others. To keep my readers informed as to what is new and possibly important to them.
Because of this blogger-reader relationship, you may have noticed that I have not even mentioned anything about the Microsoft and Yahoo fiasco. I personally believe that the subject is a bunch of BS that generates a huge amount of writing by the so called ‘journalists’ because they have to write about something or they don’t get paid. Bloggers pick this up because they think it is important to the masses because some ‘journalist’ writes about it.
So if I don’t give a rat’s ass about whether Microsoft buys Yahoo or not, excuse me! My personal opinion is that Google will continue to kick booty no matter what Microsoft does. Google owns search, plain and simple. At least for now. 
Comments welcome.
PS Thanks to Verne Kopytoff & Deborah Gage for the SF Gate article. It gave me a piece to write about without even having to get into the boring Microsoft-Yahoo deal or no deal that ‘journalists’ love to write about.
5 Comments
teddgcm
June 25th, 2008
at 7:38am
I definitely do not consider myself a journalist. Like you, I simply write about things that interest me and I think might interest others. I don’t intend to write about “the facts” and indeed, some of what I write might be inaccurate. I leave it to my readers to validate my statements according to their experience and research. I take anything written with a grain of salt and realize that one person’s opinion may not be mine.
leftystrat
June 25th, 2008
at 4:26pm
I read that differently. I don’t think they’re tarring all of us with that. I think they’re being serious, as in `journalists and others who think they’re journalists…’
Their complaint seemed to be the lack of clarity from ANYONE.
P.S. I blog in hopes people might find the topics and my skewed viewpoint on them interesting.
Deborah Gage
June 25th, 2008
at 4:32pm
Journalists write about the Microsoft-Yahoo deal because its outcome affects stockholders in those companies, not because we’re casting around for something to write about so we can get paid. If bloggers think it’s a bunch of BS, so be it.
E2001
June 25th, 2008
at 11:06pm
A journalist (loosely defined) is: “someone who writes”. However, if one were to consider themselves a “Professional Journalist” simply because they have a blog page; that would be akin to me considering myself a doctor because I own a bottle of aspirin.
Ron Schenone
June 26th, 2008
at 4:00am
Thanks everyone for the comments.
If the purpose of reporting the Microsoft-Yahoo deal is to keep stock holders informed, perhaps it should be part of the financial section and not technology.
Just my 2 cents.