I am a writer. I am a photographer. I am a videographer. I am a creator. I am a cold beer on a hot summer day.
I am not a journalist.
I am a blogger. If you are a blogger you probably aren’t a journalist either. You are just some schmo like me sharing your ideas. You don’t adhere to the same standards as a journalist and you shouldn’t have to. It’s your blog. Your voice. I choose to read it. If I wanted to read content that was perfectly edited, unbiased and factual I wouldn’t be reading your blog. I don’t read TechCrunch because they are good journalists, I read TC because it is a good blog filled with drama, hype, politics, bs and plenty of human error.
There is a group of traditional journalists turned bloggers that believe all bloggers are journalists. They get uppity when bloggers don’t play by the rules they have set for themselves. Guess what? Those are your rules as a journalist. As a blogger I don’t have to play by them, nor do I want to.
I am an online personality.
I am much like a talk radio host. I make wild statements, jump from random subject to subject, and do whatever I want to do. Through it all I am open, honest and transparent with my readers. I don’t claim to be impartial and I disclose my relationships the best I can.
I don’t want to be Walt Mossberg. I want to be the Michael Jordan of blogging. Hook me up with sponsorships. Fly me out to the big movie premiere. Compensate me for my voice and following, just like Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh or Neal Boortz. As long as I can be transparent, open, and disclose; I am cool and my followers are too. You don’t have to be a journalist to be credible, you just can’t be dishonest.
My following is my currency. It’s what determines the value of this blog to advertisers. If I betray the trust of my readers by choosing the wrong advertiser or failure to disclose, I lose my currency (and the next deal). It is in my best interest to be forthright with my readers and acknowledge I am not a journalist.
You do your thing.
I will do mine. I am happy you chose to be a journalist. You should be happy I chose to be a rockstar. We play by different rules in the same medium, let’s leave it at that.
Update:
I am compiling a list of other non-journalists for a future blog post. If you would like to be included leave it in your comments below or tweet out #notajournalist.
If you like this post please feel free to follow me on twitter.
I want to be compensated for my voice, like Rush Limbaugh, too. Actually, I’ll take half his compensation, to start, but I will be expecting a raise, soon. 🙂
Thanks Ted Murphy…this needed to be said! There is quite a stretch between “my diary” and “journalist” and bloggers can be on either end or anywhere in between. Unfortunately it’s when people *think* that someone is a journalist who really isn’t that the confusion begins.
That wasn’t much of a lashing, was it?
you’re too fast homie…my, much more thoughtful, analysis of talk radio hosts as the most appropriate analogy for bloggers is forthcoming. Who in their right mind ever tries to compare Boortz, Stern or Limbaugh to journalistic standards — likewise, it makes no sense for bloggers?!?
Until my post is ready…rock on Hans!
@VC Dan:
Don’t forget to link back here so you show up in the track backs.
@VC Dan:
Well put, Dan. Rush is chastised by the MSM all the time for his bias. He states his bias very clearly and makes no apologies. Repeatedly. Same for bloggers. Disclose, disclose, disclose.
Well said Ted!! Nothing wrong with journalism but it’s not the same standard. This is your soap box and you can do what you wish with it.
Why anyone would try and push newspaper standards on to most bloggers is beyond me. Sure some blogs are written like that but not the majority. Also the more perfect the punctuation, word smithed etc… The more diluted it becomes because they re-read, re-read edit, re-read. At the end all that is usually left is some politically correct bs that is so boring I hope there is an exec summary up top.
The best part of this post:
I am happy you chose to be a journalist. You should be happy I chose to be a rockstar.
That’s awesome!
Great post Ted! I love the “My following is my currency.” I’ve worked really hard establishing a trustworthy, respectable relationship with my readers by simply being me. I’m grateful for my following at it was great to see them stick up for me and spread the love today. They make me strong and make me realize exactly why I do what I do.
‘I am a cold beer on a hot summer day.’
I love that line – that is exactly what you are – refreshing!
I think the biggest issue people have is understanding what a personal blog is all about. I agree with you 100%, your blog is your domain and the people that pass through it are what give it value.
Whether you choose to pass that value on to advertisers or not is your decision. Whether you choose to talk about your experiences (positive or negative) is your decision. Your audience will decide whether what you say is bears value for them and voice that decision by returning (or not) to your online home.
I agree with the entire post. Thanks Ted!
Ted,
I am not a journalist. I am a blogger, photographer, videographer, vlogger and poet. I write about what I want when I want and sometimes get paid for it and most of the time I don’t. I don’t think I should feel obligated to say that “This is NOT a paid post” when I write about something I really like just because I occasionally write a paid post.
Being paid for content is evolving and I love being part of the party. I’m a Rockstar baby!
Well written, non-journalist.
@Owen You are so right. A lot of people do not get blogging or what it is all about. For me it is like being willing to live part of your life in a glass house (with safety glass). People can stop in and visit, watch, and even participate, but it is still my house, my rules.
Ted did you see Howard’s rant about bloggers? @garyvee posted it on his blog recently — he certainly wouldn’t agree, but I’m sure all the bloggers would!
@Jay Gould:
He being Howard, not @garyvee
When I first began blogging back in 2004, this wasn’t even an issue; NOBODY was a journalist! Blogging was all about expression and passion. As we’ve grown in number and importance, we’ve adapted to the responsibility we have to be ‘journalistic’ to a degree, but that was never the deal, and it never will be.
Thanks, Ted for raising the issue here now, because this is something I’ve been thinking about more and more in recent months. Personal bloggers like myself have always placed voice over profit as considerations to be targeted. I don’t write to make a living — I write to tell my story.
However if someone DOES wanna pay me for what I think…sheesh, who am I to argue? 😉
I took Journalism in high school. Almost right away, I knew it wasn’t for me. What is the point when you can’t write what makes a good story?
I blog about what I find interesting. A perfect reflection of me, my blog is heavy on books, excited run on sentences, and introspection. I do not shy away from opinion or an occasional rant.
I do not hold myself to journalistic standard. What I hold myself to is my personal ethics. I conduct myself on the internet in the same manor that I do in my real life. Having a URL that is also your first and last name helps keep me honest. I wouldn’t say anything on my blog that I wouldn’t say in front of just about anyone.
[…] Ted Murphy has even gone so far, on his own blog, encourage people to identify themselves as #notajournalist, a proud declaration of indignation and independence from the stuffy traditional world of print […]
I think I’m both. I write for a living. When someone else pays me to write on their website, I have to follow the style they set forth. And that semi-loss of my own voice, plus my subject matter (which is more fact based than opinionated), makes me be more of a journalist.
But when I write on my own blogs, I can have more of a conversational tone that reflects my own personality, which I think then puts me in the blogger category.
I think either way, though, there has to be a level of honesty to anything you commit to the posting.
[…] or not, whether bloggers should do them or not, and so on. There are lots of posts on other blogs where you can debate this topic, so I’m not going to do that, here. My only reason for […]
Well put Ted.
One thing to note: Even if, for the sake of argument, bloggers were considered journalists and held themselves to the same ethical standards, writing paid content in journalism is not an ethical violation, so long as there is disclosure.
Another thing that pisses me off is this self-labeling that is obviously ego driven.
What about blogging makes it journalism? Writing text is not journalism. If I cut myself, and then clean and dress my own wound, does that make me a doctor?
No.
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