My daughter, being the Editor-in-Chief of their college publication, just came back from several days of Journalism workshop in Baguio and told us that the speakers there are speaking negatively about bloggers. There was a mention that unlike journalists, whose work undergo several revisions (most of the time passing through several people) before their articles gets published. It was also said that most bloggers do not have reliable sources.
Checking the list of speakers, my hunch was right, they all belong to the "senior" members of society.
Until now some couldn't accept the fact that online media is the NOW and the FUTURE....and that anybody can easily share reliable news because developments on the Internet has made communication, access to information and its dissemination conveniently possible even in real time.
But similar to journalists, bloggers now get the same, if not better, access to newsworthy events or features. However, unlike most journalists, bloggers (especially the news and events niches) tend to release the stories as soon as possible thanks to social media.
Being fast is extremely valued as breaking news are highly viewed and of huge interest. Except for columnists, trad media would often disclose their frustrations online rather than allowed to openly share their thoughts on their write-ups.
We only take the time to sit down leisurely and write in-depth stories or editorials when it's a slow day. On most days, we temporarily stick to just retelling the stories. When we get to finally breathe, that's the time we go more aggressive.
However, just like any other job or expertise, we would all have our own way of working on it.
Believe when I say that welcomed breaks from a busy or hectic schedule rarely happens. We have to voluntarily take a break from all the event coverage, press conferences, product launches, media partnerships, etc.
Not that we are complaining, because that is a good problem. We are simply implying that it is still our sincere intention to only come out with informative, well-balanced and accurate stories using the very little info and access privilege we have.
Though there may still be the perception if prestige towards traditional media, they should not deny that they only get the upper hand access to the bigger news because aside from their resources and financial edge, there are still people who discriminate the lesser popular media outfits.
Bloggers in Malacanang? Why not? As for me, everyone of us citizens should be free to drop by whenever we please. Let the security work overtime., and not just during special visits. We should all be able to easily chat with any government official including the president.
The only reason why they fear or see bloggers as a threat is perhaps due to the glaring fact that we areaking their profession almst obsolete.
Why? The people should not really care about grammatically perfect and detailed news. The stories are useless when they are told too late. Honestly, most of the times the stories also become "modified" when it has to be screen by so many people where some would have vested interest. Whether they are taking care of the media outfit's image, or simply want to establish ethics in journalism, most people are still after the layman's version - simple enough to understand stories without the complex vocabulary or technical jargon.
Why are bloggers popular? Most of us won't sugarcoat just to make our stories sweet for all. Trad media should partner with us instead because at the end of the day, all we want is to inform, educate, and involve our listeners, viewers and readers.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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