I thought this was an interesting poll done by Rasmussen.
A poll taken by the group late last month revealed that 78% of adults surveyed see reporting by local newspapers as being at least somewhat reliable, as opposed to 66% which say the same about blogs.
Given the controversy which arises from at least one local copy-and-paste blog which does its best to copy-and-paste as much as – if not more than – the local newspaper, the results don’t surprise me.
The advantage newspapers still have over most internet providers, particularly solo and small group operations like blogs generally are, is that they have the resources to pay people to gather information. When I go to County Council meetings and certain political events as part of my first-person reporting I’ll often find mainstream news organizations like the Daily Times or local TV stations covering the event as well. Their model of selling advertising interspersed with vital information is still working, and they use some of those proceeds to pay those who gather information.
While I’m aware that some bloggers are paid in a similar manner, it seems the majority of them make their money by selling ads directly instead of having a marketing department separate from news operations. I doubt Greg Latshaw or Steve Hammond is begging for advertisers as part of the reporting.
Certainly there are people and groups who pay people to put out their own spin on the issues as well, and that information is added to the mix. For some bloggers, simply regurgitating these talking points is a good way to provide content at little time, effort, or cost to them. Obviously I often use releases as starting points for my posts but I rarely take them at face value.
Perhaps it’s those who unquestioningly take people at their word without doing the required fact checking that puts bloggers at a disadvantage in the poll. Certainly I’d like to help drive that 66% figure up along with my readership.
At its root, though, is the fact that all journalists and editors come to their jobs with some sort of bias. Needless to say, I look at things from a conservative to libertarian point of view and it affects the way I write at times. Having been a student of history I know that certain groups of people have no compunction in making things up if it suits their needs. But I strive for accuracy in the end, and even political opponents concede I usually get it right in my reporting.
Maybe if bloggers would do more to earn the respect of their journalistic peers and the general public by sticking to the facts and leaving aside rumors, innuendo, and personal attacks, they may just bring that number up to the level of support enjoyed by the traditional media.
Once upon a time in my youth I briefly worked in a retail setting, and one thing I was taught is that giving bad service to one customer will eventually drive another dozen away through the negative word-of-mouth. In this day and age of instant communication via Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking outlets getting the wrong person mad could backfire a thousandfold.
As a collection of media mavens it’s time we grow up and take more care in what we do. Very few of us make a living at this, but in order to do so we have to clean up our act and become worthy of support.
I think the key is for us bloggers to strive for originality. Yes, a conservative blogger can simply summarize Rush Limbaugh’s daily talking points, and perhaps attract regular readers while doing so. Yes, a liberal blogger can feign edginess by being irreverent and using bad language (not to mention a goofy pseudonym). But people come to our blogs because they’re interested in Michael Swartz’s opinion on an issue, or Chris Slavens’s, and they know they’ll find a unique perspective.
I’d say the blogger who decides to focus on a particular small town has an edge over the local newspaper, assuming that it is published on a weekly basis. I have no interest in doing this with my blog (too boring), but a Laurel-only blog could report on events right away, while the newspaper comes out once a week. Eventually, folks might start to rely on the blog as a news source, rather than wait for the paper.