Are Bloggers Part of the Press?

In the 9th episode of Shut Up We’re Talking, Darren from Common Sense Gamer, Brent from Virgin Worlds, Troy from Voyages of Vanguard, and Shawn from Brackishwater
discussed whether bloggers were part of the press. While the group certainly wasn’t unanimous in their belief that bloggers were not part of the press, several seemed adamant that bloggers were not journalists. I am surprised by this. I certainly think that bloggers comprise part of the press in this early part of the 21st century.

What activities does the press engage in? Are these that different than the activities of bloggers?

Sure a majority of bloggers are not “professional” journalists, but I think that the activities performed by bloggers are very similar to those of journalists. Let’s look at the activities that journalists perform and compare them to activities of bloggers.

• Journalists report the news - Many bloggers do too. In fact, I do. When MMO developers make statements or put out videos or press releases, I read those press releases and update my readers about the latest news.
• Journalists research issues - I argue that bloggers do just as much research as journalists. After my first year of law school, I worked in the government relations office of a large fortune 500 company. Part of my job was to write a newsletter describing the hearings that were taking place on Capitol Hill, the State Department and the Federal Communications Commission. Let me tell you: the tasks that I performed in this job were not that much different than the tasks that I perform today as a blogger. I would attend hearings, read newspaper reports and trade journals, and then write summaries of these events. Bloggers around the country are doing the same thing.

When you break it down, the press reports the news. I can’t see where bloggers don’t do this too.

Is a journalism degree necessary to qualify as a member of the press?

One argument that I heard a lot on Shut Up We’re Talking was that bloggers are not educated in the art of journalism and therefore they are not part of the press. Well, that may or may not be true. I am sure that there are many bloggers that were journalism majors in college. However, I think that having a journalism degree is a pretty weak criteria for being part of the press. Sure some bloggers may not be formally educated in journalism, but like any writer, bloggers use their own education, experience and knowledge to communicate with their readers. I might not have been a journalism major, but when I write I draw upon my own education in international relations and law to express my thoughts. This is very similar to journalists except that we come from slightly different academic backgrounds.

What media do you have to work with in order to be part of the press?

Another argument made was that the press writes for newspapers and television broadcast stations. Boy, that is a really narrow definition of the press. I am sure that newspapermen made that argument about radio newsmen when radio first came out. What we are seeing with blogging is new medium born from the way people surf the Internet. When people surf the Internet, they scan and skim news articles. This allows bloggers to write shorter, easily scannable copy.

You can see this in television as well. Television news is much more abbreviated than that found in newspapers. The stories do not go into as much detail. Television relies on images and video to help describe the story. Therefore the text of what is read is shorter and not as detailed.

So which bloggers are part of the press?

I certainly do not believe that all bloggers are part of the press. I am not that much different from the writers of PC gaming magazines, so for my niche, I would consider myself part of the gaming press. It is hard to argue that Matt Drudge is not part of the press. He only broke the story that lead to impeachment trials against the President of the United States. Perez Hilton is doing almost the same thing as Extra and People Magazine. The Daily Kos and Powerline provide news about the latest in politics.

In conclusion, the definition of the press is changing as it always has. During the American Revolution, pamphleteers, such as Thomas Paine, became part of the press. The definition of the “press” is constantly evolving as technology introduces new media for people to express ideas.