Random acts of journalism

Beyond 'Is it or isn't it journalism?': How blogs and journalism need each other

Here are the remarks I prepared for the March 9, 2003, panel discussion on Old vs. New Journalism at the 10th annual South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas. Other panelists were Dan Gillmor of the San Jose Mercury News, Joshua Benton of the Dallas Morning News, Evan Smith of Texas Monthly and Matt Haughey of Metafilter.

A quick story: On Super Bowl Sunday I was one of the millions of unfortunate souls who tuned in to see Jimmy Kimmelís new show after the game. The best thing about it was a two-song set by Coldplay. I wanted to find out the names of the songs played and, naturally, abc.com, coldplay.com and the usual suspects in the online news business provided not a clue.

But a 10-second search on Google turned up Jessica, a 22-year-old blogger in Los Angeles who braved the freezing cold to attend the outdoor concert, came home and blogged it, writing about her take on the concert and providing the answer to the mystery of the missing song names. Jessica probably didnít know it, but she was committing a random act of journalism.

Those of you in what Dan Gillmor calls the former audience who are blogging this panel live ñ- if youíre dong more than a mere transcription, if youíre providing summary, synthesis, analysis or commentary, youíre committing a random act of journalism.

Weíre seeing more random and not-so-random acts of journalism taking place in the blogosphere these days. Iím constantly astounded at the breadth and depth of expert knowledge displayed by bloggers on subjects as diverse as digital media, wireless networking, copyright infringement, Internet video, and much more, all written with a degree of grace and sophistication.

Now, is all blogging journalism? If a weblog does nothing more than show off photos of your pet cat Boca, Iíll go out on a limb and say that it probably isnít journalism, unless Boca is one special cat. So not all blogging is journalism, by any stretch of the imagination. But a lot of what you read in the newspaper isnít journalism, either, at least not in the strict sense.

It is becoming clear that millions of people are turning to weblogs for news, information, commentary and entertainment -ñ just for the pure joy of taking in writing thatís vivid, vibrant, telegenic, emotion-laden, and driven by personal experience rather than the formula of detachment that deadens far too much traditional journalism.

What does it take to be an online journalist? You donít need a professional publication with a slick Web site behind you, though it doesnít hurt. All you really need is a computer, Internet connection, and an ability to perform some of the tricks of the trade: report what you observe, analyze events in a meaningful way, but most of all, just be honest and tell the truth.

All of this makes a lot of people in Big Media nervous. I worked in newspaper newsrooms for 19 years, and I think itís fair to say the attitude of most old-school journalists can be summed up in the pithy phrase, What the hell is a weblog? Or, if they have heard of blogs, they airily dismiss it, saying none of this is journalism, or at least not real journalism.

Toward a future of cross-pollination

Now, I donít share the view of some that blogging will drive news organizations out of business. When the bombs start falling in Baghdad, my first media pit stop wonít be at our young friend Jessicaís weblog. You can bet that millions of us will be tuned in to CNN or checking out the web sites of the major news organizations. But the story doesnít stop there, for the weblog community adds depth, critical analysis, alternative perspectives, foreign views, and first-person accounts, perhaps by Iraqi citizens or friends or family of U.S. military personnel.

So we need to stop looking at this as a binary, either-or choice. We need to move beyond the debate of whether blogging is or isnít journalism and celebrate its place in the media ecosystem. Instead of looking at blogging and traditional journalism as rivals for readersí eyeballs, we should recognize that weíre entering an era in which they complement each other, intersect with each other, play off one another. The transparency of blogging has contributed to news organizations becoming a bit more accessible and interactive, although newsrooms still have a long, long way to go. MSNBC and other news sites such as the Providence Journal and Christian Science Monitor have incorporated the form into their missions, with mixed success. In a small way, blogging is helping to repersonalize journalism.

Old Media may have something to offer the young turks, too, in the trust department. Bloggers who dabble in the journalistic process would do well to study the ethics guidelines and conflict of interest policies of news organizations that have formulated a set of standards derived from decades of trial and error.

But more needs to be done to make this coming together a deeper and more meaningful phenomenon. Too many newsrooms are still shrouded in veils of secrecy. If I ruled the media world, I would take a blasting cap to every single newspaper reader forum and replace them with weblogs to make the former audience a central part of the conversation about public policy, news coverage and niche subjects. If I ran a newspaper chain, Iíd hire someone plugged deeply into the blogging world, as Harvard University did recently when it lured blog pioneer Dave Winer with a fellowship to start a blog experiment.

The emerging romance between weblogs and traditional journalism will not be an easy love affair. The Washington Postís Leslie Walker recently suggested that readers will never be able to dependably rely on weblogs for news and information because bloggers donít cling to the same ìestablished principles of fairness, accuracy and truthî that traditional journalists do. An old-schooler at the London Guardian wrote dismissively, ìBlogging is not journalism. Period.î

I think, ultimately, theyíre wrong. We need to get away from the notion that journalism is a priesthood thatís inaccessible to the masses. The No. 1 rule of journalism, really, is simply this: Tell the truth. Report something as accurately and faithfully as possible. Can bloggers tell the truth? I suspect so. Over time, they build up a track record, much as any news publication does when it starts out. Reputation filters and circles of trust in the blogosphere help weed out the nonsense. We all need to fine-tune our bullshit meters. But as one someone once said of the blogging masses, ìWe can fact-check your ass.î

Whatís ahead? Keep an eye on what I think will be the next big wave: visual blogging, or multimedia personal journalism. Already, blogger Lisa Rein is bypassing the mainstream media by posting video footage of the Feb. 16 peace demonstrations in San Francisco on her weblog, complete with color commentary. She plans to be out there again this Saturday, camcorder in hand, for the next rally. In two to three years, as the tools become more widespread and cheaper, weíll see an explosion of multimedia blogging, with riveting stories of first-person reportage, reviews -- and other media forms no one has yet imagined. And that will be extremely cool.

Note: J.D. Lasica will participate in a panel discussion on whether media sites and journalists should do weblogs at 7:30 p.m. March 24 at the University of California, Berkeley. The session is designed for mid-career journalists.

Blogging goes mainstream

CNN.com: Blogging goes mainstream. Thanks to Dave for the pointer.

'Do Not Call' becomes law

President Bush on Tuesday signed legislation creating a national "do-not-call" list intended to help consumers block unwanted telemarketing calls. ... Telemarketers say the registry will devastate their business.

I hope they're right.

Which Spam Filter Are You?

Paul Boutin in Slate: Which Spam Filter Are You?

Champions of diversity and quality

In the What a Load of Crap Dept. comes this quote from ABC chief Alex Wallau, whose parent company, Disney, is fighting network program limits: "There's never been greater diversity and quality of content ever in the history of the media industry."

Photo phones portend visual revolution

Steve Outing in E&P: Photo Phones Portend Visual Revolution -- But Be Careful What You Publish.

Music cops come after users

PC World: Now They're After You: Music Cops Target Users.

Free Wireless on Newbury Street

Wired News: A computer reseller in Boston sets up a wireless network that gives denizens of cafÈs and bookstores in the vicinity free access to the Internet -- as long as they don't mind viewing an occasional pop-up ad.

Meantime, McDonald's customers who buy certain combination meals in New York City will also receive one free hour of wireless high-speed Internet access.

Vigil for peace Sunday

MoveOn.org and the Win Without War coalition, together with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and many faith-based organizations, are calling for a candlelight peace vigil this Sunday at 7 p.m.

Beginning in New Zealand, there will be a rolling wave of candlelight gatherings that will cross the globe. MoveOn is asking for individuals to organize a vigil in each community. For more information about how to make this happen, visit globalvigil.org.

Incidentally, on Monday MoveOn delivered to the 15 United Nations Security Council members anti-war comments from one million people around the world, gathered last week in just five days. Some 180 boxes of petitions were delivered.

War checklist

Snagged from an email ... presenting the VIETNAM 2 -- PREFLIGHT CHECK.

1. Cabal of oldsters who won't listen to outside advice? Check.

2. No understanding of ethnicities of the many locals? Check.

3. Imposing country boundaries drawn in Europe, not by the locals? Check.

4. Unshakeable faith in our superior technology? Check.

5. France secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.

6. Russia secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.

7. China secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check.

8. SecDef pushing a conflict the JCS never wanted? Check.

9. Fear we'll look bad if we back down now? Check.

10. Corrupt Texan in the WH? Check.

11. Land war in Asia? Check.

12. Right unhappy with outcome of previous war? Check.

13. Enemy easily moves in/out of neighboring countries? Check.

14. Soldiers about to be dosed with *our own* chemicals? Check.

15. Friendly fire problem ignored instead of solved? Check.

16. Anti-Americanism up sharply in Europe? Check.

17. B-52 bombers? Check.

18. Helicopters that clog up on the local dust? Check.

19. In-fighting among the branches of the military? Check.

20. Locals that cheer us by day, hate us by night? Check.

21. Local experts ignored? Check.

22. Local politicians ignored? Check.

23. Locals used to conflicts lasting longer than the USA has been a country? Check.

24. Against advice, prez won't raise taxes to pay for war? Check.

25. Blue water navy ships operating in brown water? Check.

26. Use of nukes hinted at if things don't go our way? Check.

27. Unpopular war? Check.

VIETNAM 2, YOU ARE CLEARED TO TAXI.

Catching up

Stuff I missed in the past few days because of SXSW:

• Adrian Holovaty has an interview with Web optimization expert Andy King.

• In part 2 of a two-part interview Vint Cerf holds forth on the dotcom fallout, e-government, piracy and VoIP, and reveals he's an inveterate Google user, channel surfs for Star Trek re-runs, and gives us a peek into his hectic daily schedule.

• MediaGuardian: The Internet will provide "a new form of alternative or 'grassroots' journalism" in the Iraq war, writes CNN International chief Chris Cramer.

• The Pentagon is threatening to fire on the satellite uplink positions of independent journalists in Iraq, killing independent reporters in the process, says a BBC war correspondent.

You read that correctly. What an outrage. Access to what's really happening on the battle front? You better believe it will be on their terms. (Thanks to IWantMedia for the pointer.)

• NY Times: "A secretive team of AOL Time Warner executives has begun talking with other major cable operators and media companies about speeding up and co-opting the potential revolution that TiVo kicked off."

• Business 2.0: Industry Standard founder John Battelle, now a prof at UC Berkeley, says Net-based business and Web publishing are starting to work.