What do Younger Journalists Think of Bloggers?

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With the sea of commentary regarding the growing rift between bloggers and the professional media, most notably the recent dust-up as a result of Will Leitch’s appearance on Costas Now, it occurred to me the voices disparaging bloggers were coming from journalists who can be considered the “old guard.”

This fact gave me pause to wonder what the younger members of the professional media thought regarding these recent developments. I sent Dan Wolken of The Commercial Appeal an e-mail asking if he would be good enough to answer a few questions. Dan has been working in the journalism industry professionally for six years and has been at The Commercial Appeal since October 2006, covering the University of Memphis men’s basketball program.

Dan’s bio and contact information is listed at the end of this article should you be interested in dropping him a line.

1. I’d like to know your personal opinion of bloggers.

“First of all, I have a hard time commenting on “blogs” generally because there are many different kinds of blogs. There are blogs that are offshoots of regular media entities. There are independent blogs where legitimate journalistic ventures are taking place. There are blogs that are purely entertainment and commentary.”

“I don’t find it productive to engage in name-calling, but I think the main issue that concerns the “professional media” is whether the public knows the difference between your run-of-the-mill blog and legitimate journalism. Every time I read a message board, there is somebody who sees a piece of rumor or speculation on a blog and accepts it as fact.”

“The reality is, that piece of information probably would not pass mustard by normal journalism standards. In the long term, I think the Internet is like everything else in business. A good product will endure and gain fans/customers, while a bad product will fail.”

Commenting on a post can offer readers a different view and thus encourage greater debate, which is the purpose of having a comment section. However, attacks against the writer or others posting comments is counter-productive and could possibly lead to fewer people writing a response. I can understand why people may be less inclined to post comments and to some extent, they’re overrated anyway. It’s not about how many comments you get – it’s about unique page views.

Point in fact, blogs aren’t journalism and the blogosphere as a whole has voiced this very plainly. Whether a reader has difficulty differentiating between a blog and “real” journalism isn’t our concern, or at least, it isn’t my concern. Like any other product, a reader can make their own decisions and draw their own conclusions.

Carrying that point forward with regard to the factual nature of information being posted on a blog, what makes rumor or speculation on a blog any different than ESPN’s “Insider”? Are we to accept rumor and speculation as journalism from a media outlet, but not on a blog? Rumors and speculation are just that, regardless of the source.

Certainly bloggers can take a subject matter seriously and put forth their best effort in writing about it. However, to suggest legitimate journalism only takes place within the professional media is off-base. Are we to believe everything we read in the print media is factual? History has proven otherwise.

I prefer to approach writing an article with the idea of not insulting the intelligence of the reader. I believe we should give the reader credit for knowing what is factual and even if they don’t, will have the wherewithal to search for the answer. Capturing information today is obviously much easier than it was 20 years with greater access to resources.

2. Do you consider bloggers a threat or a nuisance to the professional media?

“I think if newspapers figure out a way to incorporate blogs into their standard product, the public won’t have much use for blogs that are run by people who have less access and less information.”

“At the end of the day, there aren’t many bloggers out there who are as well-connected as a professional journalist.”

I find it interesting that a professional journalist recognizes the incorporation of blogs within newspapers could be advantageous, yet questions the validity of blogs and bloggers. Perhaps I’m reading more into that reply or have misconstrued the intent. Ultimately it doesn’t matter if newspapers found a way to include bloggers because that isn’t the reason subscriptions to print media have fallen over the years.

It’s about access to information, and that access is only limited by your own imagination. Bloggers aren’t specifically responsible for fewer newspaper and magazine subscriptions; it’s the Internet in general. The Internet has become the preferred source of information and the print media can’t compete.

I agree that professional journalists do have access to the subjects we write about and any blogger with a modicum of common sense knows that. Our lack of contact with the subjects does not however, negate our opinion. It most certainly doesn’t diminish our perspective or insight into a subject, especially if the blogger has first hand experience.

It is my opinion that readers of blogs aren’t looking for a pure source of information, but seek views and opinions that are similar to theirs. It develops a community of like-minded people that can share information and perspectives they may not get elsewhere. Even if an opposing view is brought to the forefront sparking debate, it is dialogue that helps bring opposing views together.

3. Do you agree with many in the professional media, namely Roy Exum, Marcus Hayes, Bob Costas, Buzz Bissinger and others, that bloggers don’t have journalistic ethics? Do you believe bloggers take too many liberties with subject matter?

“I really am not comfortable commenting on the ethics of others, but I think it’s fair to say that bloggers are much less careful. When there aren’t consequences that’s a natural impulse. On the other hand, there are certain subjects that we wouldn’t address in a newspaper. There’s a lot of tabloid stuff that ends up on blogs, and perhaps that’s the best outlet for it.”

This has become a common argument among the professional media, but one that for the most part is unfounded. While there are bloggers that take liberties with subject matter and aren’t worth the bandwidth they are taking up, the vast majority of bloggers post articles that are researched, well-written and offer salient points.

Bloggers serve as their own editors; another blogger will quickly point out anything that isn’t based on fact and would question the ethics of another blogger just as quickly as they would anyone in the professional media. In short, there are consequences, and they come from other bloggers.

This idea that only bloggers are taking ethical liberties is near laughable – see Dan Rather.

I can tell you from personal experience that if you wish to be taken seriously in the blogosphere, you better do the research, write as well as you can and make an effort to offer something to the reader they aren’t getting elsewhere, all the while doing so ethically.

4. I’m of the opinion that instead of bloggers and the professional media butting heads, we need to figure out a way where we can co-exist and compliment our work. Would you agree with that or do you believe something else?

“I’d be interested to hear some ideas on that. I’m not sure how we can really co-exist if our objectives are completely different, or conversely, if we’re in competition for the same objective. At our paper, we’ve tried having “bloggers” as part of our Memphis Edge blog, but I’m not sure how successful that venture has really been.”

Dan made some excellent points here that hopefully will generate thought among the readers on how we might be able to accomplish that. I agree that bloggers and the professional media aren’t serving a common purpose. Bloggers are offering an alternative to the professional media that has garnered a vast number of readers on the Internet.

However, it would be a positive step and potentially advantageous to both if the saber-rattling between the professional media and bloggers ceased. Ironically though, if the war of words continued it would offer both sides an opportunity to write articles such as this.

As I noted in my e-mail exchange with Dan, I agree that the right circumstances have to be in place for a blogger to post content side-by-side with professional journalists. Bloggers covering a particular subject, especially in sports, have a tendency to be “homers.” While those views have a place in the blogosphere, I prefer to read an objective opinion and generally you’ll get that from the professional media more so than with bloggers.

5. Do you read any blogs on a regular basis? If so, what’s your sense of the overall product? Are they well-written? Are they factual? I believe sports journalism is inherently opinionated – would you agree?

“I read Deadspin and With Leather every now and then, but I’m far from a daily reader of sports blogs. I do read a lot of political blogs, which tend to be less tabloid-like and more discussion-oriented. I read The Huffington Post several times a day because they get very legitimate, high-level contributors posting blogs there. The Daily Kos is another blog I read constantly. And Real Clear Politics has tons of great links to read every day.”

“I don’t think it’s accurate to say that sports journalism is inherently opinionated. There are aspects of it where opinion and analysis are necessary, and I think that sector of the profession will increase. My opinion is only relevant because of the number of people who read the paper combined with the access I get.”

Some of those choices are interesting but none that I would consider uncommon. With regard to the issue of sports journalism being inherently opinionated, I believe we’ll agree to disagree. I’ve read a number of articles that Dan has written where he voiced his thoughts on a subject. In part, that’s what he’s paid to do, at least in my opinion.

I’m just writing out loud here, but I believe sports journalism does open the door to more interpretative writing. We’re not writing about the laws of physics, we’re writing about coach’s decisions and why a team may be on a losing streak.

Unless we know the definitive answer to the questions, we can only speculate and offer our thoughts. If the subject is newsworthy and there’s a demand for information we’re going to provide it to the reader based on whatever facts we can capture and our opinion.

Without offering opinions where would we be?

6. Do you ever write an article where you take an opposing or unpopular view to solicit a reaction?

“I never write for reaction. If I were a columnist, I might from time to time. But as a beat writer, it’s not good business.”

I don’t want anyone to misinterpret my thoughts because it is not my intent to call Dan out on this. However, while you may not believe you’re taking an opposing or unpopular view of a subject to purposely solicit a reaction, I can tell you that he and others, especially me, do just that with regularity.

Give me a chance to explain myself. Several months ago Dan posted an article on the Memphis Edge website about the University of Memphis’ loss to the Tennessee Volunteers. Dan covers the Tigers basketball program for The Commercial Appeal and the following Monday posted a story about the Tiger players not giving him their time to be interviewed.

To see some of the comments posted regarding his thoughts would make you wonder why his house wasn’t burned down. In writing that piece I would have a hard time believing Dan didn’t realize he was going to get a strong reaction from the readers. Granted, it’s a Memphis-based website covering the hometown team and the comments were more harsh than perhaps they would have been had the article been posted elsewhere.

Again, I’m not suggesting he’s purposely writing for a reaction, but subconsciously you’ve got to know when you write something controversial it’s going to get a strong reaction.

I’ve read enough of Dan’s articles to know that he’s always provided his readers with good content and based his thoughts on facts, or at least as close to it as one can reasonably assume. While I don’t always agree with his assessments, I have found him to be a respectable journalist offering his honest views to the readers.

I’d like to thank Dan for taking the time to answer these questions, a most gracious gesture indeed.

Dan Wolken, much like our nation’s 42nd president, grew up in Hot Springs, AR. A 2001 graduate of Vanderbilt University, Dan worked as a post-graduate intern at the Charlotte Observer. Upon completion of his internship, Dan spent nearly five years at the Colorado Springs Gazette, where he covered a variety of beats, including NCAA hockey, the Denver pro sports scene and Air Force Academy football and basketball. Wolken joined The Commercial Appeal in October 2006 and has been covering the Memphis Tigers basketball program. Wolken’s work has garnered multiple awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors and Colorado Press Association. Dan can be reached via e-mail at wolken@commercialappeal.com.