Bloggers can become journalists
Paul Andrews from The Seattle Times once said that “without the daily work of print journalists, one wonders if even the news-conscious blogs would contain any real news.”
Regardless of what Andrews may believe, it is possible for bloggers to acquire journalistic entitlement provided they follow the proper guidelines that comes within a reporter’s job description.
One of these guidelines include the SPJ Code of Ethics, which requires the reporter to “seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently and be accountable and transparent.”
Another guideline to ensure journalistic and ethical credibility is through the TARES test, which is an acronym consisting of five principles: truth, authenticity of the persuader, respect for the recipient, equity of persuasive appeal and social responsibility.
Fact-checking and research, unlike the SPJ Code of Ethics and the TARES test of ethics, is not just a guideline, but a fundamental necessity for any news story. No journalist can survive without doing the proper research or gathering the essential facts that makes their stories so compelling to the public.
If followed correctly, these guidelines will guarantee the blogger’s aim in satisfying his or her readers with genuine, ethical stories.
“I think blogging could be more heavily relied on because it’s more accessible than most media outlets,” said UH Mānoa journalism student Jessica Lotts. “Blogging applications are easier to read and navigate, and that is a big plus against legitimate news sites.”
Anybody can be a journalist, especially bloggers. With the growing use of the internet, it’s only a matter of time before newspapers start losing revenue in favor of their online counterparts.
With that fact in mind, bloggers should be encouraged to share their own news stories so long as they can back up whatever false claims are made against them if they write about controversial issues.