Bloggers, the new journalists?

With the rise of the internet, many people now have access to the world. Of course having such accessibility has caused many older mediums to question how they functioned and if they were ready to enter the digital age. One group that is having trouble defining themselves as they enter the world of computers and internet is journalists.

Instant access to information from any part of the world. This is what the internet has brought upon the world, for good or bad. Without the need to leave the comforts of their home, any person can roam the world in search of their next big story or something interesting. One word has risen to try and describe this new group that has appeared on the scene, replacing the old journalists of yesteryear. Talking about bloggers.

The traditional journalist may very well be seeing its final days, people no longer have to, or even want to, travel around the world to get their scoop. Journalists were revered for their ability to smell a story and dig further to make it even more interesting. Journalism not only meant being able to find stories, it meant being able to write well and explain things clearly. To be considered a journalist, one had to work for either a respectable newspaper or magazine, of course journalists, the term, began to lose its meaning with the rise of gossip papers. Many journalists would try to work for the New York Times, considered to be the pinocle of journalism for many.

Bloggers are an interesting group of people, coming from all walks of life. Some do it for the simple enjoyment, others are employed with benefits and the whole nine yards. Yet bloggers do not see the same respect journalists saw in their heyday. Perhaps this is because of the accessibility. Anyone who has a computer with internet access can start a blog and say whatever they want on it. This of course causes people to become suspicious of bloggers because they have no authority to either check their facts or make sure they don't make some inflammatory remark.

Bloggers have no New York Times, they continue until they want to quit, there is no top of the group distinction. Not having any distinction could be considered a benefit to bloggers since they are not constantly being compared simply by where they work. Yet there is nothing to separate those who are trying to do serious writing and those who are doing it as a hobby. Perhaps in the long run this may turn out to be a benefit because there are so many different types of writers out there, yet as it is now those that want to be taken seriously still have a long way to go before proving that blogging can be a respectable profession.