Do blogging and journalism go hand in hand?

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Is blogging journalism?

I wondered about this after listening to three political bloggers suggest otherwise at Moravian College's Foy Hall Tuesday night. For the uninitiated, blogging is a popular Web pastime where the creator essentially publishes on-line a diary of information mixed with personal judgments generally regarding an issue or event. The site often includes links, images, maybe even multimedia, anything that may enhance the presentation. It's usually interactive, where users participate.

Ana Marie Cox of, John Hinderaker of and Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of have become media stars with the enormous popularity of their blogs during this political season. While they seemed to agree the distinction between their craft and journalism is rather nebulous, they all repelled any impression of being viewed as journalists.


I'm not so sure.

Cox, who leans toward the left, called herself a satirist. Hinderaker, a conservative, and Zuniga, a liberal, said they were activists. Cox said she hated facts and essentially all other aspects germane to traditional journalism. Zuniga said he did not want to be placed in any mold and that he had no desire to be a journalist. Hinderaker is a lawyer who sees newspapers as fast becoming obsolete.

Yet they proceeded through their 90-minute discussion to point out just how diligent they are to be informative, accurate and timely with their Web presentations. They're all looking to build and maintain an audience.

Certainly sounds journalistic to me.

Throughout the history of the mainstream media, its hallmark has been to present news and information as accurately, objectively and fairly as possible. But the dissemination of news and information overall has come to take on so many forms and now includes veiled, and in many cases overt, slants and biases. It makes media distinctions -- what is journalism and what isn't -- very difficult for the average person.

But the constant is that the other basic tenets of journalism - accuracy, timeliness, relevance -- still must be in place or what you have to say isn't likely to matter for long. Deciding the personal impact of the spin is left to the beholder.

For example, is clearly a left-wing Web site bent on advancing liberal viewpoints. It panders to a specific audience, like a trade magazine. There are lots of similar sites out there.

The difference is this one is very popular, this one has a growing audience. People obviously care about what Zuniga says there and keep coming back. It's the same at, which is geared toward people on the right.

Both sites are updated constantly and include links as sources. Their editors both said they're sticklers for accuracy or they hear about mistakes a hurry. They take their responsibility to their users very seriously.

Even if you're going for laughs, as is the case at, a point of view is still being offered. It is still issue-oriented. There will be subtleties to messages that speak to the audience even in an entertaining fashion. People can identify with them, which is why they come back.

You can aim only to entertain, you can offer comments for shock value, you can frame the lyrics of a song to fit a certain theme. You can build a Web site or write essays for publications somewhere just to get things off your chest. But once you invite people in to see the world and its issues through your eyes, whether you're doing so objectively or not, and they actually pay attention and want more, it changes. You've become relevant.

Now there's a responsibility that goes along with what you say, that is if you want people to continue to listen. You have to be accurate and clear. You have an audience of followers who expect you to be straight with them. You tell them things that aren't true, you get caught leading them astray a few times and you're going to lose them. Once you lose relevance, it's hard to regain it.

But is this journalism? Are pro-right commentators Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh or pro-left commentator Al Franken journalists? Does a spin away from objectivity make the difference, or is the perception all that matters? What about television's Fox News, which is viewed as leaning dramatically to the right? For that matter, the mainstream media has long been viewed as overwhelmingly liberal. So who decides the distinction?

I suppose that's left to us as individuals.

Blogging certainly is an innovative, interactive approach to the dissemination of information, and the Foy Hall discussion was certainly enlightening as to its potential. But as a mainstream journalist who had heard this sort of banter before, they sure seemed like journalists to me.

Ted Williams is a senior Web producer at His column appears weekly.
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