Are Bloggers “Media?”
Are bloggers members of the “media?” That’s a tough question.
The blogging trend is still fairly new (in the grand scheme), and bloggers are as often considered “snarks in bunnyslippers” as they are legitimate information sources.
In a recent tweet, Paul Gillin (who has the credentials to know) made a compelling distinction: “Most bloggers know more about a topic than reporters, who switch beats all the time. Reporters are resourceful; bloggers are knowledgeable.”
Geoff Livingston agreed: “Bloggers are not media, and should be treated differently. Different goals, readership, rules.”
In other words: the question of whether bloggers are media is moot.
Bloggers are DIFFERENT from the mainstream media. They are smart, expert, passionate, independent, talented, and cantankerous. They have their own agenda, whereas journalists (while they share many of the traits listed above) are beholden to a publisher’s agenda.
More to the point: whatever else ya call them, bloggers are influential.
We’ve evolved (quickly!) from a situation in which the mainstream media complained about having their content “scavenged” by bloggers, to an era in which reporters look to the blogosphere to vet the facts, themes & memes of their own prospective stories.
A so-called “hit” in a blog is often as valuable as a “hit” in a mainstream publication. (In fact, we recently placed a client story in a national morning show AND in the Perez Hilton blog, and consumer response to the latter outstripped traffic gains from the “big” hit in the mainstream outlet!)
So – no, most bloggers are not media. (I would argue, however, that blogs like TechCrunch, Huffington Post, etc. do meet that gold standard.) But, they are just as important as media. From PR pros, bloggers deserve and require different approaches that are more creative and respectful than anything that’s gone before.
The most common area where this “bloggers as media” question comes up is at trade shows. Do you give ‘em a press badge?
Yea, you set some minimum requirements for longevity and authority, but you do give them a press badge. They have knowledge, enthusiasm, a publication (of sorts) and readers. Those characteristics alone may not make them “press” in the traditional sense, but these are untraditional times: rather than penalize someone for not fitting established norms, why not encourage their passion and creativity, which only help promote the industry and the event?
Are bloggers media? Maybe not. Maybe they’re better.
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I think it is interesting that many of the people that say blogging is not journalism are the same people that have disdain for the term PR 2.0 and regard digital PR as being exactly the same as old style public relations.
How can that be so? In a way I think they are wrong on both counts.
There are thousands upon thousands of bloggers and most have little relevance or influence. For many of these people if it is simply about the pleasure and excitement of being able to self publish.
For those that operating at the apex of the pyramid the similarity between what they do and what a good journalist albeit specialist does bears a great deal of scrutiny.
I wish people would stop putting definitives on bloggers. Some are journalists. Some are not. Some are media. (I would argue most.) Some are not. Some are credible. Some are not. Each should be approached and dealt with individually, just like members of the media and/or journalists should have been all along.
Sorry. Rough day. Ranting.
Glad to see you back, Todd!
In the new media age, people are exposed to tons of information. They want someone to filter the noise a little. Whether it’s offering an opinion or just finding the upcoming trends before the mainstream media, bloggers aren’t just telling the news. In that sense, bloggers, to me, are evolved reporters.
Well said. As mainstream media struggles to find a workable business model, reporters are increasingly turning to bloggers as a source of domain expertise. This only magnifies bloggers’ influence. You don’t have to admit every blogger to your event, but you should admit those who matter to you. As long as you state the selection criteria clearly, let ‘em in.
Out of curiosity, what characteristics bring Techcrunch and Huffington Post up to that gold standard level?
Maybe it’s just semantics, but bloggers *use* media (as a plural of medium) as do reporters. Blogs are media as are newspapers, magazines and TV. Twitter is, of course, another medium.
I think you should be asking if blogging is journalism, or if bloggers are ‘the press’ or something along those lines.
Again, maybe just semantics, but the misuse of the word ‘media’ gets under my skin.
There is a lot of generalisation in this post. All bloggers, just as all journalists were not created equal. Likewise all media are not equally valuable.
But blogs are another way in which people can consume content…an addition to the array of media available and one which may be the sole medium or one of a range of media a person wishes to consume. All this depends on the individual and their preferred method of content consumption.
Valuable, well researched content is not the sole remit of the blogger or the journalist. But blogs that deliver this value can certainly be referred to as ‘media’ in the context of this post.
As for the ‘press badge’ question? Just as with any effective outreach strategy when you need to evaluate that the voice is relevant and well read, those appropriate to the exhibition audience should be viewed as press. They are equally as valuable to the organisers, exhibitors or industry concerned.
How do you feel about restructuring how we use language? Approach a local newspaper editor to talk about the differences between traditional media, old media, new media, digital media, online media, and social media; and you are likely to see more head scratches and eyebrow raises than actual conversation.
Rather than rehashing the blogger vs reporter argument which is but a different form of the newspaper reporter vs magazine reporter vs trade journal reporter argument, why not replace the word blogger with online journalist and replace the word reporter with print journalist or some variant thereto?
Well, whatever else they are, bloggers are probably your customers, and that alone is a good reason for treating them well.
IMNSHO.
Wow – a lot of great responses. I am very grateful, especially after taking a week off.
@Jason and @Jane (and @Colin & @Ari, to a lesser extent) – I hear ya on the generalizations inherent in a post like this; I struggled with it. But for now at least, I think most people place bloggers (regardless of credential) and mainstream media in separate buckets. That’s what the post attempts to address.
@Zach – HuffPo and TC are, to me, differentiated by huge audiences and the contributions of heretofore “traditional” journalists (e.g. Schonfeld at TC).