Are bloggers parasites?
Is this a tick "questing" or a blogger looking for news?
Robert Niles of the USC Annenberg Online Journalism Review states,
Over the past months, I've heard several journalists make the same comment at various industry forums: That blogs are a "parasitic" medium that wouldn't be able to exist without the reporting done at newspapers.Case in point: I've just "parasitized" Mr. Niles' commentary. Some might say I have "sucked the life" from his post for my own traffic. So probably not as many people will read this entry as have already linked to his, but that is another story. Or is it? Have I, by taking part in this conversation, taken any value from his entry? Or have I added to its validity as yet one more person recommending others to read it?
Is it any different than clipping an article from the local paper and mailing it to my mother? Or talking about a news story with friends over coffee?
As many others in the discussion have pointed out, these journalists are really only talking about a certain subset of blogs. They certainly are not talking about the many encouraging homeschool blogs out there like my "blog mom" who shares thoughts on her journey with the Principle Approach. Or the literally millions out there like my new virtual friend from South Africa who blogs primarily about family life. And there are those who provide their own original reporting.
Not around here. You mostly get quotes and links to whatever happens to strike my interest, with my own personal
So, assuming you are one of the millions of Americans who no longer reads the local paper, why did you stop reading it?
I stopped reading the paper regularly long before I ever even heard of a blog. I stopped because I found the newspapers themselves lacking and not worth the time and money to read them. Some of that is due to the bias of the media. A lot of it is because I do not like the superficial presentation. I infinitely prefer formats such as NPR which give a lot more information and put some history into the story. Not that I expect that of my local paper. That isn't really what a newspaper is good at. Nor is it what a blog is good at, unless you read it over time. Over time, a well-written and focused blog will give you a history of an idea and a multitude of examples to back up its argument.
Over time, The Liberty Papers will give you a view on politics that I do not wholly subscribe to, but find thought provoking. Over time, blogs such as Go Big Ed or Joanne Jacobs will give you a broader perspective on education issues. Over time, you will probably come to the conclusion that I exist in my own little secluded world, but that is ok. I think I am about 200 years behind in my political thinking, and seeking to drag the rest of the world back with me.
Is the growing popularity of blogging leading to the demise of the paper, or has the dissatisfaction with the paper led to the popularity of blogs? If journalists really want to secure their jobs, they might do well to seek out answers to a declining readership beyond the immediate scapegoat of blogs.
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Related Tags: blogging, blogs, journalism, parasites
12 comments:
Newspapers then are also parasites as they feature editorials from other newspapers across the country regularly. Seems like the journalists are no better.
Bloggers use a different media but the concept of either writing something original or commenting on and citing someone else's work is no different. Newspapers do it all the time.
Hey pot - this is kettle - black.
Very true. I was thinking of the AP and how many times the same article gets reprinted in several papers as I was reading this. Not to mention the op-ed page, which would probably be a better analogy to blogs, anyway.
I stopped reading the local newspaper after I graduated from journalism school. Although I admire the intelligence and writing ability of many journalists, journalism as a profession is mostly parasitic.
Sometimes, though, the patient needs to be leeched, as in the case of government corruption or social injustice.
The good effects of journalism come about from its reflection of culture: when it reinforces good aspects and inspires action against bad aspects. In that way, it is still parasitic.
Hi, Dana,
You asked: "... why did you stop reading it?"
I stopped reading the paper when I moved out of Los Angeles, which would be between 10 and 20 years ago (purposely vague), and found out that the daily local paper cost nearly the same as a Sunday LA Times. I was used to the broad scope of the LA Times and the local paper was so limited and thin--and cost more. The paper was over-valuing their worth which made me wonder about the paper's ability to give me the news.
With the advent of the internet in our home and when newspapers finally went online, I found I could use the TV news to alert me to issues I wanted to read more about online.
I cannot imagine ever going back to reading a newspaper in paper form or subscribing--not unless there's no other way to get news.
Tammy at Homeschool Comments on the Fly
I guess I rambled without really answering the question. I decided to obtain my news only in enjoyable ways, such as through NPR, or in efficient ways, such as through the Internet. This leaves me more time to experience the culture that newspapers usually distort or ignore.
Dave, I agree. It is kind of funny, though. Since I started blogging, I probably pay more attention to newspapers when they come my way than I used to. And I subscribe to a couple via my bloglines accounts, so blogging and the internet have gained them at least one reader. Although I am not a paying subscriber, so maybe they don't care, even though I'm sure they must get something for the advertising.
Tammy, that is interesting and you raise two thoughts in my mind, although perhaps only a tangent off your comment.
First, regarding finding more information online. In the barrage of information out there, I frequently find myself wanting more information and more follow-up on particular stories. Some sound bytes leave me with more questions than information and, although it takes a bit of digging, there are some great blogs and other sites out there that do a nice job of pulling together that kind of information. This is one example of this (it is the only one I can think of off the top of my head).
Second, I wonder how much our mobile society has affected the local paper, at least? We don't have as deep of roots in our local community and people seem to be increasingly interested in national news and less in local news.
Thanks for interesting "ghost" link, Dana.
Um, sure. Any time. But I'm pretty new to this and don't even know what a "ghost" link is.
So what did I do?
It was a link to a story about "ghosts", a term which the blogger uses ironically. Ironically, though, a "ghost link" is a link to a page which is a "ghost", that is, is no longer there.
Aha. Thanks. Now which link would that be?
I "stopped" reading the paper (except for local news 'cuz that's hard to come by on the Internet) because the writing is far worse than mine. If I wanted to read stuff written at a 5th grade reading level (they claim that's how it's written but I think it could be argued that it's closer to 3rd) I'd read a children's book from my kids' library. lol.
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