Interesting point implicit in Technorati’s new State of the Live Web: as newspaper and other mainstream media use blogs more, does the public’s distinction between traditional journalism and blogging blur further? And if that happens, isn’t it counterproductive for old media to adopt blogs, since it erodes their distinctiveness and competitive advantage? In other words, by using blogs to try to keep eyeballs, do they merely devalue their core product, namely news coverage with heavy investments and commitment in core journalistic values? As a newspaper wouldn’t it make more sense to stress their distinctiveness from bloggers — lots of trained journalists, lots of resources, lots of experience — rather than try the ‘me-too’ of blogdom?
clipped from www.sifry.com
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I would agree with that – why not use your strong point, namely the editorial system, which blogging doesn’t have?
Blogging is no substitute for “old media” columns and articles but I think what the editors are after is the direct link to readers and discussion. Not convinced that blog-style comments will work for news sites for instance (must stop calling them newspapers actually).