The Fearless Blogger

A journalist that wore two hats

In her blog Save the Media , Gina Chen shares  10 ‘Journalism rules’ you can break on your blog.

As an intro to these rules, Gina writes:

there’s a part of me that loves blogging because you’re allowed to break the journalism rules. In fact, I’d argue the best bloggers break them regularly because blogging isn’t a news story; it shouldn’t read like one; it shouldn’t look like one.

At a high level, Gina encourages taking advantage of the dynamic, interactive and community qualities of the web when writing for a blog. I encourage you to view the post to read the list in full – below is a summary of her 10 rules:

1. Use partial or fake names
2. Tell part of the story
3. Insert opinion
4. Link to a report or news release rather than rewrite it
5. Link to background rather than repeat it
6. Link to the enemy
7. Use second person; heck, use first person
8. Get personal
9. Answer your critics or supporters
10. Fix your mistakes rather than just publish a correction

As newspapers are shutting their doors and mainstream media is hopping onto the social media bandwagon, this will become an increasing relevant issue in the near future. It seems natural that a new set of rules begin to emerge.

Gina’s post and others’ reactions, has me thinking about the increasingly blurred line separating blogging and journalism.  Journalism codes of ethics exist to give the public comfort they can trust the information that is published.  Is there a danger of a “slippery slope” effect if professional journalists have the option to break the rules at their discretion when wearing the hat of “blogger”?

As new “best practices” and rules emerge, another question arises: Should bloggers then be expected to follow a set of standards?

This is my personal blog. As such, I feel I have the flexibility to choose a style that feels natural to me. As a public communications major with a couple of  journalism classes under my belt, I’m at least aware of where and how often I’ve strayed from journalistic standards.

Granted, for a blog about social media, nifty websites and pop-cultural references, my credentials are probably not crucial. My posts don’t hinge on the credibility of my sources. Tendency towards hyperbole, if anything, would just be the absolutely most annoying thing the entire world – make that the universe- has ever seen (ever – in all of history).

What if this were a blog about child safety, nutrition, medical treatment or the stock market? I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say many (if not most) bloggers are not aware of existing journalism rules – and therefore unlikely to follow them. Is there a point where not employing these rules- for instance reporting news on the fly, before all the information is available, or inserting the writer’s opinion (perhaps in a manner designed to sway or influence the reader)- could be considered irresponsible?

As a reader, I think it’s a bit “Pollyannaish” to expect everything that’s written to be objective and entirely true. Certainly the existing standards that apply to conventional media haven’t been effective in ensuring this (for an example, just watch how each FOX News and MSNBC covers the same story). The onus falls on the reader to maintain a healthy sense of skepticism paired with intellectual curiosity to effectively parse out the facts in any story we’re presented. The failure of most readers to do this is not unique to the internet.

As a blogger, I think we each need to take the responsibility to educate ourselves on methods to display credibility to our readers.  Ultimately, it’s not whether we’re accountable to a specific set of standards – existing or new.  It’s understanding the intent behind the standards.  The prevailing intent is behaving ethically and maintaining trust – something I personally strive for, regardless of the existence of any set of rules.

I raised bunch questions in this post – I’m interested in what you think.  Please share your thoughts in the comments!

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