Qualified Bloggers

The issue of blogging as journalism is being attacked on all sides this morning. First, a Pew/BuzzMetrics ... ... Mitch Ratcliffe subsequently points out the flaw in the study itself, paying attention to word count instead of influence. Via George Simpson says regardless this is a case of bloggers not really being journalists: "When bloggers start schlepping down to check the police blotter at 3 a.m. just to make sure the victim's name is spelled correctly, then they can pull up a chair to the adult table." When I was a college newspaper editor, I put newbies on the blotter beat. The definition of a writer isn't just changing, readers are savvy beyond discrimination, they have become engaged. And if you buy that assumption, schlepping becomes a lower form of journalism. Not that there are really higher level forms, which is the point. Second, . With architecture of participation, I wonder how long it takes for Apple to sue a participant. Ross Mayfield is CEO and co-founder of Ross Mayfield's Weblog which focuses on markets, technology and musings.