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Internet, personal

Bloggers vs. Journalists

By William Bakker | 03.02.08 | 2 Comments

The subject of this post is the panel I will be participating in during the workshop at the Phocuswright bloggers summit in Berlin on Wednesday. I don’t think it’s an us vs. them at all. There’s a place for both.
Journalism is turning data into knowledge. A journalist has the tools and skills to gather all information (the data), get to the core and communicate his/her conclusion. I always learn a lot from traditional media when I don’t know too much about something.
The bloggers I like either give me their knowledge, their opinion, or data I can use to gain knowledge. Often the value is the conversational aspect. Even though they might not posses the communication skills a journalist possesses, their subject matter expertise compensates for it.
I’ve been on similar panels before and the editorial argument often comes up. This is interesting because it touches upon the editorial team vs. the wisdom of crowds. And both work, for different purposes. I trust the BCC or NY Times to tell me the most important news. I trust Digg or Techmeme to let me know what’s most popular or what’s discussed the most.
Times have changed, and will continue to change. The key is to embrace change find your new role, models to operate under and the opportunities that comes with it.
I look forward to the discussion on Wednesday, and I hope to see you there.


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