The role of blogging vs journalism, the 1st Amendment and one reason why blogs are beating corporate media.

Paul -V- — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 10:30:57 -0500

Last week Julie Ball, a reporter for the Asheville Citizen-Times, (AC-T) interviewed me and a few other local bloggers for a story about the role of blogging and the first Amendment.

Julie seemed a bit concerned that since bloggers are not accountable to an editor, we would abuse constitutional protections and unfairly attack neighbors.

I told her that dedicated bloggers take credibility seriously and the blogosphere is a self-regulating system. While it's perfectly acceptable to have a point of view, nothing harms credibility more than publishing information that can't be backed up. If you start spreading rumors about a neighbor, he can easily start his own blog and fight back. Besides, if a blogger writes something particularly libelous there is a legal remedy: A lawsuit.

Citizen bloggers are similar to the PR departments of big corporations. The difference is that instead of being motivated by money, bloggers are motivated by what they are passionate about.

Blogs will not make traditional reporters obsolete anymore than cameras made artists unnecessary. The amount of influence blogging will play in the distribution of information has yet to be determined, but formal reporters and newsrooms aren't going anywhere. The role of the mainstream media in the face of this new medium, is to help citizens put all this information into context, while simultaneously admitting their own biases.

Julie Ball also interviewed Anne Fitten of Edgy Mama and Gordon of Scrutiny Hooligans. It was a good article and I am honored that she chose to mention this blog in it.

At this point, you might wonder why I am not linking to the Asheville Citizen-Times story. The answer: I can't. (Warning: Tangent ahead.)

Oh, I suppose I could ... but the AC-T archives all their stories after a few days. They want readers to register and pay for content, as if they were still the primary source of information about Asheville. If I created a link here, it would soon become obsolete.

This is one of the reasons why bloggers are such a danger to corporate control of the media. A month from now, if someone Googles: "Asheville Bloggers 1st Amendment" this site will be providing the content in advance of the local newspaper.

The AC-T bills itself as: "Voice of the Mountains." However, because Gannet, the corporation that owns the paper, is so concerned about squeezing every dime from their readers - Brainshrub.com will be the voice people hear.

If that isn't an illustration about the role that blogs have over mainstream corporate media - I don't know what is.

Read counterpoint here.

Tags: Asheville - Bloggers - 1st Amendment - Asheville Citizen Times - blogging - reporting - Brainshrub - role of bloggers - local paper

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Mandatory registration to view content hurts online publications.

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The role of blogging vs journalism, the 1st Amendment and one reason why blogs are beating corporate media.