Blogging: Citizen Journalism Meets the Internet

By JP Mestanza: SPM NJ Writer
Posted Saturday, November 22, 2008

The field of journalism is changing. With newspapers in sharp decline, and the advent of new media, faithful readers are now met with opportunities to voice their opinions and views in a more hands on forum. The internet is replacing newspapers as a pedestal from which journalism is now an occupation available to all. But is this a good thing?

Youtube.com gives people the ability to post videos, message boards are filled with news banter, and social networking sites allow for these networks to thrive. Among these new developments is the rise of the commentator in the form of a blogger. An online weblog, or "blog" for short, allows bloggers to not only report news that is readily available in mainstream media, but adds an unrepentant bias to journalism.

The exclusive access of the hardened reporter is being replaced by the reinforced opinions of the citizenry. Nowhere is this debate more hotly contested than in the sports realm, where the emotional elements of the sports fan easily take over the objectivity of the reporter. An examination of this debate and an analysis of various blog networks should give us perfect insight as to whether or not blogging is a hindrance or an innovation.

In 100 years, people will look back and notice that 2008 was a perfect benchmark for the development of blogging. Where blogs are toddlers, news companies are middle aged. A few companies have even become institutions in and of themselves. Sports Illustrated is noted for their exclusive photographs and searing editorials. Sky sports in England is known for their stock market like approach and round-the-clock coverage of soccer and rugby. The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) is the innovator of the 24-hour sports coverage with objective, yet witty, reporting.

Viewers have certain expectations of these companies and have an understanding of what these various media companies stand for as they now have "identities or brands that attract specific audiences" (Branston. 137). In the case of the aforementioned companies, they are targeting the sports fan, the gambler, the athletes, etc. These companies, along with the institution of sports journalism, have a history of producing reporters and columnists that practice journalism beyond just games.

W.C Heinz, considered one of the best sports writers of his generation, was also a war corespondent and novelist who co-wrote "M*A*S*H" under a pen name (Washington Post). Mitch Albom, noted sportswriter and novelist, wrote "Tuesday's with Morrey." Hunter S. Thompson covered politics, ran for sheriff in Aspen, and wrote novels while his syndicated sports columns were published throughout the country. The literary history of sports journalism is rich with reporters who have similar careers. Their status as unbiased writers are being threatened by the fervent opinions of sports fans through blogs.

Blogging has only been around for a few years, and it is constantly being expanded. The internet is becoming more of a place for citizens than reporters, since just about anyone can start a blog. The challenge for bloggers is simply staying consistent with up-to-date content. A recent report by NBA analyst Elie Seckbach from the "Blog World Expo" in Las Vegas gives insight as to how difficult blogging actually has become.

The market is becoming more and more saturated with newcomers trying to create a niche with their blog. Most bloggers join a larger network of blogs, such as YardBarker.com and Deadspin.com to name a few. The main attraction with these blogs is that they are free and open to anyone with a computer. Facts and news are easily available from company websites, such as ESPN.com and CNNSI.com, making commentary easier with a pick-and-choose approach.

Sometimes, however, bloggers break news,or what they consider to be news. For example, in early 2008 pictures of Matt Leinart partying with bikini-clad Arizona State University coeds surfaced in blogs throughout the country. Whether tasteful or not, some bloggers felt compelled to chastise Leinart for not focusing on football while others praised him for his casanova-like ways.

The problem came when many bloggers failed to mention that the pictures were taken in the offseason at his home. Simple follow up information was cast aside for commentary that went beyond the focus of the athlete as an athlete. The question of sports teams and athletes will be addressed but keep in mind that journalists are the first people to take offense to this type of reporting by bloggers.

An interesting focus was highlighted by long time sports journalist Bob Costas. In the April 29 episode of his show "Costas Now," a debate between journalist Buzz Bissinger, Deadxpin.com founder Will Leitch, and Cleveland Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards addressed many of the issues reporters have with blogging.

Leitch reiterated the difficulty of bloggers to stay consistent and held his belief that sports blogging is more truthful since it provides "honesty and forthrightness," two virtues of journalism, on the part of the blogger. Leitch was adamant about the fact that brevity, freedom of speech, and easy access to blogger content is more user friendly and represents the future of sports journalism.

Bissinger's assessment of sports blogs is that the tone is abusive, little thought is put into the content, and the focus is not in holding a discussion, but mainly bashing athletes. As the moderator, Costas acknowledges that some blogs do adhere to many journalistic standards, are thought provoking, "insightful, make good points, and are funny." But he notes that there is a much larger percentage where the quality is poor and amounts to little more than bias banter towards athletes and teams.

The notion by Leitch is that newspapers and literary content by sports reporters is becoming dull and that "only people over the age of 50 still read newspapers." This begs the question, is age a factor in determining the credibility of sports blogs?

The debate was aired on HBO and contained many swear words that will not be reprinted here. But what was interesting is the admission of Braylon Edwards that he does read sports blogs as a way to stay humble. Edwards also notes that younger audiences, having grown up with the internet, take blogs less seriously than people like Bissinger. An athlete such as Edwards was perhaps less critical of bloggers, but what of individual teams and owners?

The NBA is one of the few professional sports leagues that allow bloggers from credentialed news organizations inside locker rooms (New York Times). An April New York Times article reported how Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, who has a policy of not allowing bloggers in the locker room, snubbed the NBA policy by allowing inexperienced, uncredited bloggers, some from middle school, inside the locker room to interview players.

This case, although amusing, is a great example of the problem facing the media and sports teams: who owns the rights for photographs, audio, and video? Mark Cuban, himself a fan before buying the team and a fervent blogger, understood that giving too much access to people who write largely on opinion would create a positive spin for his team. Cuban obviously allowed bloggers access as a joke, but it is not such a bad move on the part of an owner who is trying to create a better atmosphere within the community of Mavericks fans.

However, the NCAA has a very different policy when it comes to live blogging. In June of 2007, Brian Bennett of the Louisville Courier-Journal was removed from the University of Louisville's Jim Patterson Stadium after officials found out he was live-blogging the NCAA baseball game between Louisville and Oklahoma State. Apparently Patterson had violated the NCAA broadcast agreement with CBS and ESPN, which disallows any non-NCAA approved outlets to broadcast the game in real time (Sports law blog). Was this a case of copyright infringement or live facts? Is live blogging any different from a fan texting events from the stadium? The NCAA curbed its rules a bit by allowing a few posts a quarter, in women's water polo.

The case of Mr. Patterson is interesting because he was a reporter from a reputable newspaper with press credentials. He was let in the press box with the understanding that he was to cover the game, truth and all. There exists a large number of reporters with blogs of their own. Many are company blogs, such as ESPN's division-by-division coverage of the NFL. A January, 2008 study by the Bivings Group found that 95% of the top 100 US newspapers now offer reporter blogs.

The truth is that blogs offer the "breaking news" aspect of reporting. Bob Costas puts it well when he says that responsible blogging is nothing more than brief reporting, with or without credentials. But is corporate blogging the future?

Many on the blogosphere prescribe to the idea that blogging will not end, and that as long as there are interested citizens out there, blogging will only expand. It is not a surprise that the rise of blogging coincides with the decline of newspapers. Newspapers are on pace for record lows in the amount of revenue generated for 2008 with an 11.5% loss.

Still, content is being moved online, and aside from the environmental aspect of this change, it does not look like newspapers will retain their circulation much longer. Noam Chomsky's essay, "What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream," rationalizes that newspapers do not cater to audiences, but to advertisers. He notes that since newspapers are actually more costly to print, newspapers are selling the audiences as a product to advertisers, "They are selling audiences. Corporations sell audiences to other corporations. In the case of the elite media, it's big business."

Does this make blogs part of a revolution against corporate media? Not exactly. There are many bloggers out there that believe bloggers will eventually convert to a more "old school journalism" style and merge with reporters. Over 95% of newspapers offer blogs, but it is not an integral part of any news or sports coverage, at least not yet.

Blogging has proven to be more than an entertaining pastime for non-journalists. Networks of blogs are being fully integrated and it will not be long before these networks become merged with one another. Advertisements are already starting to pop up on heavily trafficked blogs, so there exists a possiblity for expansion.

To which degree will owners of blog networks take this expansion, only time will tell. It is very telling that sports journalism as a whole is accepting the change, though with chagrin and not without debate. Reporters like Buzz Bissinger and Bob Costas might one day be replaced by XxJetfan89. The rhetoric of writers like Hunter Thompson, Mike Lupica, and W.C. Heinz could be swapped for a negative banter.

Still, there are those in the blogosphere who remain optimistic as to the quality of blogs and its uses. Surely brief opinions have a place in journalism, but to what extent? The future of blogging and its apparent usefulness will undoubtedly transform over time as the internet gains ground in third world countries.

Nevertheless, it can be argued that blogs have changed the role of journalism as it provides a new forum for anyone to post whatever they like. Journalism degrees, literary value, and objectivity are not required.