BloggerCon II -- Session led by Jay Rosen.
My reactions and takeaways: What I got from this session is that bloggers used to be loners working without restraint, and pro journalists used to be part of a collaborative, restrictive system. And each is moving toward the other.
Some bloggers are embracing a more structured form, and old-school journalists are experimenting with the freedom and directness of blogging.
Many people spoke of the "trust" that journalist got from their parent pub, but I see this more as "reputation" or an "expectation" from the readers, that is not as prevalent in blogging. Although some bloggers have established themselves to have as much "trust" as most conventional pubs.
The journalists mostly said that they didn't miss the editors, but they did miss the editing. They valued the collaboration of working with an editor, but not the arbitrary restrictions.
What follows are my pretty raw notes that I made while sitting in the session.
(These notes aren't an attempt to transcribe the session. They are just the things that I thought interesting enought to write down. Also, quotes aren't verbatim, but are paraphrasing. Items not specifically attributed, are anonymous.)
Jay Rosen: There are two tribes, bloggers and journalists. merging, competing, partnering.
Christoper Lydon: We blog for the same reason we bomb bagdad, because we can.
The session if very full. I didn't count but I estimate there to be about 70 seated and another 15 standing or sitting in ailes.
A consistent theme: blogs give people, pros and civilians, a direct channel to readers.
It's a medium of expression
Writing is a way of caring about your world
Blogging/journalism can be a distributed act, eg trent lott it wasn't a single site that "broke" that story, but many that pieced the story together.
Journalism is a lens that helps the "map of reality" be more or less useful... blogging is an additional tool in that process.
Blogs don't challenge journalist's, they challenge editors [sound of assent in the audience]
Joshua Farber, high school teacher: Students want to avoid the media mechanism, and want to be involved in their world... opportunity to feel like they are actively involved... in the way the world is made clear...
Rosen: Yes, there is a desire to participate.
The publishing part of being a journalist is now a non issue...
Journalism focus is on the selection of info...
Journalism is a set of practices, framed by standards... sourcing is important... selection, framed by ethics and sourced, etc...
Jay Rosen poses a question: What happens when journalist's start to blog?
You no longer have a seal of approval from an established publication...
The sensibility of an editor is missing in the blog world... editors aren't the people who keep you from doing god's work... when you start blogging, the feedback of your audience becomes your editor.
Jeff Jarvis: blogging has made me an asshole... I can no longer tolerate editors... I just say screw it I'll put it in the blog... the feedback from your audience... it changes your relationship to the world.
When you're blogging, it's an ongoing process, it's not finished, you can revise.
You have built-in trust when your a oldstyle journalist...
Steve Silber: You have freedom of topic... I can write about things I can't in my journalist role... opinion stuff too.
With freedom comes risks... liability not shared
Debbie Gallant: It can give you a wider audience... I used to have a New Jersey audience, but now it extends to canada... it extends my brand.
Gillmor?: columnist becoming bloggers is almost seamless... chief advantage is conversation with readers... capturing info when your readers know more than you do.
Rebecca McKinnon: It took me awhile to allow my personlity to come through... also to depart from conventional practices, eg the whole procees, including failures can be part of the story. She told about how a letter from the N Korea government denying her access, could be part of the story in blogs, but would never get into an old-school story.
Rosen: credibility... brand... borrow the brand... with blog you start from zero every day.
Independent bloggers risk being sued from far away... old-school share risk
Westport CT local news site: shied away from calling itself a blog... has more credibility from not calling it a blog... I edit it just like I did as pro journalist... when I did do a commentary I got lots of compaints about partisanship... blog implies opinionated...
Henry, blogads: I bet the commentary increased traffic... people are hungry for commentary...
Micah Sifry: readers are hungry for filters they can trust... overwhelmed by info... most interested is finding these filters... a person who blogs about something they know about or something they've glommed onto.
Weinberger: filters are good, but I'd rather use an aggregator, to see a wide range of items
Scott Brodeur: Used to (as an old-school journalist) get trickles of feedback (in crayon) but now I get more, its a dialogue and that's good
Has anyone been sued? "errors of ommision" insurance?
Robert Cox of : The National Debate recalled how the NY Times tried to sue him for his site. They came to their senses quickly. The experience didn't cost him anyting since 6 law firms offered to help pro-bono.
??: Blogging could inadvertantly expose my sources... people will comb through past blog items and possibly see patterns... make it hard for me to get new sources...
Mary Potter, technorati & cal berkeley: From user's perspective blogs pull back a curtain... makes relationshop more honest... more transparent
Rosen: What do we want to see happen?
Christopher Lydon: I.F. Stone, the only sertifiable genius journalist I've met -- and believe me it's not a genius field [rk nodding] -- he was a blogger without a blog. He did it all... but he was a genius, but we're not all geniuses... but the costs for us are way down... we need to work really hard toward that objective.
Rosen: many of the things that used to define journalism don't any more... new things now... journalism is being stripped down... the possibilties that I.F. Stone wanted are open to all of us... journalism slowly coming undone... journalism isn't gonna be the same. Blogging will teach people how to be interacting citizens...