2008 Woodie Awards
Bloggers Spin Stories on World Wide Web
Newest Internet craze sweeps the country, allowing people to express themselves freely in an open forum.
Marc Howard, Special to the Star
Issue date: 4/6/05 Section: News
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"Blogging is an example of what is one of the Internet's greatest virtues," said Steven Griffin, a web columnist. "The Internet puts the power of the printing press in the hands of the individual. It promotes
the free exchange of information."
A blog (short for web log) is essentially an internet journal. Computer users can make entries into their journals during the course of a day that are available immediately to be viewed by anyone with Internet access. Blog topics include art, entertainment, sports, politics and medicine to name a few.
Many websites offer computer users a place to post web logs for free. A few of these sites are myblogsite.com, blogster.com and slate.com. The user can access the site and register and begin posting blogs.
Registration is as easy as choosing a username and password, then
users are given access to the template in which to write then post whatever messages they choose.
The majority of the estimated 8 million bloggers nationwide do not consider themselves news writers and are not reporting on issues but
simply posting on the internet their thoughts and opinions on contemporary issues, accounts of their own lives or simply
corresponding with other bloggers on common interests.
There has been some faulty reporting by bloggers. In one case a blogger known as Matt Drudge reported that former presidential candidate John Kerry had an affair with an intern. There is no substantiation of this claim. It was a web log that gave life to the rumor that President George W. Bush was receiving prompts via a device he wore under his jacket. Critics say bloggers lack training, accountability and objectivity. In other words, can the information they write be trusted?
"Whether getting your information from a blog or a traditional news source, one has to look at multiple sources to get a balanced view of a story," said David Kronke, a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News. "The reader figures for himself what's a good report and what's a bad report. There are good and bad bloggers just like there are good and bad traditional reporters."
Lisa Struthers, also a Daily News reporter said, "blogging is good in that it promotes competition in the news gathering media."
It was a blogger who brought to light the questionable legitimacy of the documents used in Dan Rather's report on Bush's having received preferential treatment in the National Guard. Michael J. Korzi, a columnist for the Baltimore Sun said in an article that most of the top political blogs and bloggers set a rather high standard in their commentary and "reporting." Top blogs have set a high bar of credibility and illustrate that blogs and mainstream journalism together can contribute measurably to the public good.
