Blogging, investigation and the future of journalism

By Kayla Queen

Supposedly, blogging is the new journalism.

It seems that for the past decade, more and more so-called experts have been popping up to spout off their opinions about the future of journalism in this technologically driven, economically-uncertain era. In all reality, they are not actually fortune-tellers and can’t see the future — they are journalists void of any future-telling abilities.

The fact that journalism is changing is obvious. It is evolving and journalists must adjust, however, that does not mean the foundation of journalism should be lost.

It is clear that blogs are a new and important piece to the journalism puzzle, but it should not take the place of actual newspapers, but rather run along side it.

The Huffington Post, the number two best blog of 2009 according to Time Magazine, is authored by a long list of bloggers and is a credible blog site full of actual news in an easy to read format, surrounded by interesting design. The bloggers are reporting actual news coverage, investigating issues and making the information readily available to the world.

The lead story on the front page of the Huffington Post for March 18, 2010 was headlined “Time to pick a side” by Ryan Grimm. It covered the final released details on the health care bill — obviously a hot topic and important issue in America right now.

It’s there. It’s reporting. It’s news. This is good blogging. This is good journalism. Period.

The number one best blog from that same list, Talking Points Memo, is a blog dedicated to political news.

“Talking Points has become the prototype of what a successful Web-based news organization is likely to be in the future,” Time’s editors wrote to TPM.

This is news blogging at it’s best and is not trying to take the place of other media; it is simply becoming another item on the list of media outlets. The information being reported is important and written by someone who knows the news. It shows how other people in the communications world are concerned with the future of journalism. Not everyone is on the all-blog bandwagon.

If it’s credible and shows actual journalism activity, then sure — blogs are great. But then there is the other side of the spectrum — bad blogs.

PerezHilton.com is obviously not a real news blog. It covers the latest celebrity gossip, posting unflattering paparazzi shots of stars stumbling out of clubs or simply walking around in the grocery store. This is not news, and because it is under the same category as credible blogs such as the Huffington Post, blogs can become dangerous to the world of reporting.

The other, separate issue with the blog argument is the money.

It is well known that the U.S. is in a time of economic uncertainty and crisis, and printing newspapers is costing more and more money.

According to Nicholas Carlson from The Business Insider, The New York Times spends $63 million on raw materials and $148 million on wages and benefits per quarter. Carlson calculates that printing the paper costs twice as much as sending every subscriber a free Kindle, which retails at $359. Having the Kindle would mean no paper, just the online edition of the paper, saving money and resources.

The Great Recession has left the country coming up short, including the newspapers. It would indeed be easier to bail and forget about the paper — paper and printing means money, which not many seem to have these days, and it would almost make sense to switch to an online-only publication. Not to mention it would save a lot of time and money.

But since when do journalists roll over and go for the easy way out? Real journalists are supposed to be tough and fearless, never afraid to jump into the storm and live to write about it. Or for example, Ann Curry, news anchor for NBC News’ TODAY and anchor for “Dateline NBC,” reported from the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Arabian Sea when the United States bombed Al Qaeda targets in Afghanistan. That is what a real journalist does.

So, granted, certain shifts have to be made in journalism in this era, but replacing reporting and actual newspapers with blogs would be detrimental to this society. The traditional investigative journalism and reporting should hold true to an extent, the founding fundamentals of the trade should remain in tact. Journalists of all fields must fight through these difficult times.