Blogging as Journalism, Part I

I've seen a lot of discussion in online forums (especially blogging forums, of course) recently about whether or not bloggers should be treated as journalists. There are almost as many views on this subject as there are blogs, but mine is pretty straightforward: if you're conducting interviews, finding credible, first-hand sources and generating original news and feature stories, you're a journalist. If you're rehashing what you've found on someone else's news site or in the newspaper or telling us about your experience with the auto mechanic this morning and how much you're dreading your visit to Great Aunt Sarah, you're not acting as a journalist in that moment. That doesn't mean YOU'RE not a journalist, but that particular action isn't journalism.

This is a big topic that I expect to span several posts, but this morning I wanted to focus on someone outside the usual debate. We're accustomed to hearing from bloggers who want (demand?) to be treated as journalists, but it seems that all the while there are bloggers out there quietly acting as journalists without ever thinking to stop and fuss about what they're called.

I ran across a great example this morning, in the form of a recent interview with Lisa Smith-Batchen. This kind of thing is unfortunately relatively uncommon on blogs--the blogger conducted and published an actual interview...an interview with a woman who happened to appear this morning on the Today show. She didn't have a media operation or a budget or a press pass...she just went out and found the information, directly, and shared it with her readers. If more bloggers--especially those who purport to be dealing in news--were to take that initiative, maybe the perception of blogging and bloggers would improve on its own and we wouldn't have to spend all this time debating whether or not we should be considered credible.

Featured Blog Catalog Donors Choose Challenge Project of the Day

A teacher in Indianapolis reports that her white boards are literally falling apart. Her modest proposal to replace them has been more than half funded, and a mere $170 is needed to fulfill the project and provide these basic teaching materials.

Please drop by Donors Choose and make a contribution. As this example demonstrates, very small contributions add up to big differences in the lives of our elementary school children across the country. If just 17 people donate $10 to this project, it will be complete. Think about that--you and 16 friends can kick in just $10 and provide white boards for an elementary school classroom. I've paid more than $10 for a single mixed drink! (And I'll bet you have, too)

Yesterday, Total Divorce stepped in with a contribution that matched all of the donations made during the first day of the challenge, but there's still a long way to go...and we can get there one $10 donation at a time, if everyone will take just a moment to participate!

Blog Catalog Community Comes Together to Raise Funds for Education

Bloggers across the country are posting this weekend in a joint effort to turn attention--and dollars--toward Donors Choose, an organzation that brings donors together with public school teachers across the country who are looking for funding for projects and supplies their school budgets can't support.

Because most public schools are funded by property taxes, those in the poorest districts are often lacking in the most basic supplies and equipment, and can't even entertain the possibility of field trips, enrichment programs, or things many of our children take for granted, like a computer in the classroom.

At Donors Choose, teachers describe exactly what they need funding for, and donors can contribute to the specific projects they feel are most important.

Of course, I'd advocate making a donation to Donors Choose at any time, but a donation today will carry the added benefit of demonstrating how effective viral marketing can be in soliciting funds for charities so that similar projects in the future will assist worthy charities in spreading the word for free.

Big thanks to Tony at Blog Catalog for organizing and publicizing this, and to YOU for whatever your contribution might be--donating to Donors Choose, spreading the word through your own blog, or whatever seems right to you.