Archive for March, 2005

I’ve been kind of saving this piece. However, somehow, it slipped out.

Okay, I “leaked” it to the NewComm Forum Blogzine.

So, to all the people who’d seen early copies and wanted to link to it, here’s your chance. Hopefully I’ve covered the basics of my point here. It’s only “version 1″ of this thought though, so expect it to evolve.

Bloggers Aren’t Ethical

Let’s get this out in the open before we go any further. Bloggers are not journalists. Bloggers are not bound by journalistic standards established only in the last century in order to drive up profits. Bloggers do not need to play by the rules.

Now that that’s out of the way, what the hell am I talking about? I’m talking about ethics. Objectivity. Standards. The things that journalists, in the last year, have suddenly – and in typical mob fashion – realized bloggers “lack” in some way or another.

I’m not going to get into a mudslinging match, noting that there have been more journalistic scandals involving ethics, objectivity and standards in the last 6 months than there have been around blogs in their entire history. Nor am I going to note that while the credibility of most journalists comes not from themselves but from their employers, any credibility and following bloggers have has to be earned through blood, sweat and tears.

Because it doesn’t matter.

Bloggers are not journalists.

There, I’ve said it. The question as to why bloggers aren’t journalists, and why it matters anyways, is a bit more abstract.

Let me tackle this from three angles. First, the history. Until the 19th to 20th centuries, journalists didn’t seek objectivity, credibility or ethics. At all. In fact, the very beginnings of journalism were what would today be called tabloids: whatever would sell is what was written about. The more sensational the better. Journalism didn’t become a profession, never mind one found on any form of community standards, until modern times.

Bloggers are at where journalists were at in the early 19th century: we’re discovering our voice, we’re learning the influence we have over the population, and we are sweating through the issues as individuals.

There is a subtle difference though.

Journalists were popular because they were the only source of news at the time. Bloggers are popular because they are the only authentic source of news.

Which leads us to my second angle on this whole issue. Journalists, as a body, seek objectivity and credibility. Bloggers, as a body, seek authenticity and honesty.

This leads to a fundamental disconnect in popularity, voice and motivation. For all but a select number of journalists, the pieces they write are dictated. They are writing about it because it pays the bills and they enjoy the art, but everything about what they write is mandated: balance, seeking out sources, being objective, etc. Bloggers, on the other hand, and with only a few exceptions, write because they want to. They write about what they want. And they write about it however they want.

And audiences will either read or they’ll simply ignore the blogger.

And here is the fundamental disconnect: when your purpose, format, voice and content are what attract the audience, to betray that audience by imposing other boundaries may damage your ability to keep an authentic and honest voice. And, that is ethics.

Which is my third angle. Ethics is something created by lawyers and journalists out of capitalistic need. This isn’t to say it’s a bad thing, but it does mean that applying the same ethical measuring sticks to blogging doesn’t work.

If journalists need objectivity and credibility, anything which damages that is in effect a breach of ethics. Bloggers, on the other hand, need authenticity and honesty. So, anything which damages or hinders a blogger’s ability to be authentic and honest should be considered in the same vein: a breach of ethics.

Therefore, at its core, ethics is the protection of that which defines your voice, popularity and activity.

Thankfully, there are some things that are obvious ethics “violations” even across the chasm that divides journalists and bloggers. Taking money in order to express a certain opinion is sure to damage a journalist’s credibility, as well as a blogger’s authenticity. Likewise, covering up a scandal wouldn’t be honest on the part of a blogger nor would it be objective on the part of a journalist.

At the end of the day, the only thing we as creators of the written word have is that which our audience gives us – their eyes, their ears and their minds. And to violate that trust is the cardinal sin of everyone who values the written word. Be they blogger, journalist, poet or playwright.

So protect your words, protect your readers and honor the trust you have been given. By doing so you will be the best journalist or blogger you can be.