Bloggers and blogging have been at the forefront for quite a
while now. The quality of blog writing certainly doesn't have to be
inferior to journalistic writing. However, objectivity, fact reporting
and the integrity of the writing are still critical.
From the angle of objectivity
Interestingly, the success of social media (which includes blogs) is based on successful relationships. Of course, Successful relationships can't exist without an emotional connection. This seems contradictory to objectivity. However, it is not actually impossible to affect a reader emotionally and still not surrender your objectivity as a writer. If you write your story effectively enough, you will succeed at touching your readers on a level that makes them feel something. Journalism should never be so objective that it totally loses its humanism. Otherwise, you may as well consider the writing a report rather than a story.
The right to write
Nowadays, you don't have to be an established journalist (or any other type of writer) to be able to write, publish and share your content. The idea that the public is willing to read what other people write no matter what they happen to do for a living is extremely widespread. People are much more accepting than they ever were before. Of course, there are many different levels of involvement with which "regular" people can become engaged. In fact, there are many times when a blog writer is more accepted and his work is taken seriously more readily than a journalist's writing. The blog writer is often regarded as one of the people and the readers can relate more easily to what he or she is writing, thinking and feeling.
Acquiring the cutting edge
In all writing (blogging and journalism), you would never want to write about old news. If you do that, people won't have any interest in reading your content because it doesn't interest them anymore. However, bloggers and journalists both need to grab the story before anyone else has a chance to get there. When it comes to the structure of your writing, you need to answer a series of questions on any given topic. You need to answer what, where, who, how and why. If you can cover all of those on a cutting edge topic, you will succeed at getting your readers to read what you are publishing. Of course, in your great effort to get there more quickly than someone else, you also need to make sure that your content is accurate and precise. Fact checking must be a part of what you are doing.
Different types of writing
There is no question that blog content and journalistic content are not exactly the same thing. However, that doesn't mean that they don't both possess their own form of integrity. For one, bloggers are able to accomplish a great deal (research, writing, etc) from the comfort of their own desk whereas journalists need to be physically in the middle of whatever they are writing about. That is just the nature of what they do and the extent to which they need to be taken seriously.
Blogging that leads to journalism
There are many people who believe that blogging is a stepping stone to journalism. There is possibly something to that theory, however, it is not always the case. If someone has never written before and he or she gets started by writing blogs, the skills that are needed to be a professional journalist can be acquired that way. However, blog writing and journalistic writing are definitely not one and the same. Being a journalist and the approach to writing at times requires a very different skill set.
Conclusion
Bloggers and journalists each hold a tremendous amount of value and their contributions are vast. Of course, they are not interchangeable and it is important to be able to take what you can from each and apply it to your content in an appropriate way that will help to improve the content that you are sharing with your readers.
We are pleased to provide you with the insightful comments contained herein. For a free assessment of your online presence, let's have coffee.
From the angle of objectivity
Interestingly, the success of social media (which includes blogs) is based on successful relationships. Of course, Successful relationships can't exist without an emotional connection. This seems contradictory to objectivity. However, it is not actually impossible to affect a reader emotionally and still not surrender your objectivity as a writer. If you write your story effectively enough, you will succeed at touching your readers on a level that makes them feel something. Journalism should never be so objective that it totally loses its humanism. Otherwise, you may as well consider the writing a report rather than a story.
The right to write
Nowadays, you don't have to be an established journalist (or any other type of writer) to be able to write, publish and share your content. The idea that the public is willing to read what other people write no matter what they happen to do for a living is extremely widespread. People are much more accepting than they ever were before. Of course, there are many different levels of involvement with which "regular" people can become engaged. In fact, there are many times when a blog writer is more accepted and his work is taken seriously more readily than a journalist's writing. The blog writer is often regarded as one of the people and the readers can relate more easily to what he or she is writing, thinking and feeling.
Acquiring the cutting edge
In all writing (blogging and journalism), you would never want to write about old news. If you do that, people won't have any interest in reading your content because it doesn't interest them anymore. However, bloggers and journalists both need to grab the story before anyone else has a chance to get there. When it comes to the structure of your writing, you need to answer a series of questions on any given topic. You need to answer what, where, who, how and why. If you can cover all of those on a cutting edge topic, you will succeed at getting your readers to read what you are publishing. Of course, in your great effort to get there more quickly than someone else, you also need to make sure that your content is accurate and precise. Fact checking must be a part of what you are doing.
Different types of writing
There is no question that blog content and journalistic content are not exactly the same thing. However, that doesn't mean that they don't both possess their own form of integrity. For one, bloggers are able to accomplish a great deal (research, writing, etc) from the comfort of their own desk whereas journalists need to be physically in the middle of whatever they are writing about. That is just the nature of what they do and the extent to which they need to be taken seriously.
Blogging that leads to journalism
There are many people who believe that blogging is a stepping stone to journalism. There is possibly something to that theory, however, it is not always the case. If someone has never written before and he or she gets started by writing blogs, the skills that are needed to be a professional journalist can be acquired that way. However, blog writing and journalistic writing are definitely not one and the same. Being a journalist and the approach to writing at times requires a very different skill set.
Bloggers and journalists each hold a tremendous amount of value and their contributions are vast. Of course, they are not interchangeable and it is important to be able to take what you can from each and apply it to your content in an appropriate way that will help to improve the content that you are sharing with your readers.
We are pleased to provide you with the insightful comments contained herein. For a free assessment of your online presence, let's have coffee.
Carolyn T. Cohn is the Chief Editor of CompuKol Communications.
Mrs. Cohn has a wealth of experience in managing people and projects.
She has run several editorial departments for various companies. Mrs.
Cohn has 25 years of editorial experience and her expertise covers a
wide range of media, such as online editing, editing books, journal
articles, abstracts, and promotional and educational materials.
Throughout her career, Mrs. Cohn has established and maintained strong
relationships with professionals from a wide range of companies. The
principle that governs her work is that all words need to be edited.
Mrs. Cohn earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo.
Mrs. Cohn is a member of the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA).
Mrs. Cohn earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo.
Mrs. Cohn is a member of the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA).
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