Can Journalism do Blogs?

Scott Karp asks (hypothetically) if Blogging can do Journalism, and fairly quickly concludes it can - after all its just another channel which helpfully has a digital CMS attached to it (and getting a flexible CMS is non trivial in Medialand, believe us...).

But that is not the real question one should be asking...the real issue, the billion dollar question, is whether Journalism can do Blogs?

Not Journalists I hasten to add - individual Journalists are doing fine as bloggers, and some - the NYT Bits, UK Grauniad, the BBC - actually do a good job (though a no-commentwall policy would be nice)

However, judging by some recent grumblings in Journoland, one wonders if the overall Ecosystem has got it even now. I am referring to these amusing vignettes:

Some still feel that Citizen Media should be monitored and regulated

Supporters of "citizen journalism" argue it provides independent, accurate, reliable information that the traditional media don't provide. While it has its place, the reality is it really isn't journalism at all, and it opens up information flow to the strong probability of fraud and abuse. The news industry should find some way to monitor and regulate this new trend

The UK's National Union of Journalists can't actually say "Citizen Journalist", instead referring to us as "Witness Contributors". (Heck, what's wrong with Blogger....). Neil McIntosh writes:

...the union continues to flog the dead horse of its Witness Contributor Code of Conduct, which remains a profoundly silly document. For example, its insistence on, whenever possible, using “material produced by NUJ members […] when such alternatives to witness contributors are available” cheapens the latest, more savvy, report. It speaks more of a fear than an understanding or vision of what users might add to our traditional work. It looks old-fashioned alongside today’s report, and should be spiked.

(To be fair, Neil compares the latest NUJ report very favourably to the one of last year)

The truth is the Genie is out the bottle...I'm a journalist and publisher now, as are many of the bloggers I read, even if they are VC's, academics, businesspeople or whatever as well.

Our economics are disruptive as we do it as an offset activity, our opinions - in our areas of expertise - are worth reading (we are ever so humble ), our enthusiasm is boundless (as are our numbers), and we are capturing an increasing amount of time and attention, and thus Ad spend.

So....what does the aspirant Journalist do today?

Until recently, my advice was largely the same as anyone had given for many decades: Find a gig where you can write — a small town paper, freelancing for an alternative weekly, a business trade publication (my route). If you’re good, the story went, you would find you way to bigger publications and forge a career.

Today, it’s hard to give that advice, when the economic underpinnings of all those places you were supposed to be trying to work for are so shaky. Is there any good advice other than to learn how to trade mortgage-backed securities?.... In fact, there may well be many more interesting options today for someone who has a passion to find and tell stories.

This by NYT Bits Journoblogger Saul Hansell at a convocation for Journalist Entrepreneurs pitching their (YASN) startups

So...just as all the Geeks are becoming Journos, the Journos are becoming Geeks....

Update...looks like Hollywood Scriptwriters are also becoming Geekpreneurs...its getting crowded