I'm NOT a blogger.

Hey, It’s All Journalism. Right? 
September 17, 2017 By: Deric Kennedy 

Technically, Yes. But Don’t You Dare

Call A Professionally Educated Journalist  a “Blogger”.

They’ll Most Likely Correct You.

And Then Punch You In The Face. 

 

Hey, welcome back to The SCEM VIEW, with Deric. As you know, I’m pursuing a master’s degree in Strategic Communication at Troy University. This show (blog) was created to explore and discuss various topics and explore the content in my Strategic Communication & Emerging Media (SCEM) course. And I’m glad to have you back! Quick recap of last weeks show, my COM 6630 class briefly explored social media and how it is one of the biggest nightmares facing strategic communication professionals. We took a look into the world of modern networking and how it’s been impacted by social media i.e., such as Facebook and Instagram. I proposed the question, ‘Are business cards still important today with such a variety of new digital alternatives? We concluded, it all boils down to the audience and demographic. In more corporate spaces, people tend to value tradition, so handy business cards are still very popular. Whereas with most millennials and those in the creative industries, it’s been proven that exchanging social media information is rapidly becoming the more successful route.

Well, we are now at week five! This week, COM 6600 is exploring Blogging, Citizen Journalism and Digital Democracy. So, I admit, I was relieved when I learned of the weeks focus because I have a lot to say about them all and that makes my job a lot easier! But more seriously, today we are going to take a look into what I call a “Journalistic Beef” between professional journalists and the everyday bloggers – also known as Citizen Journalist.  I have several friends who are professional journalists, ranging in job titles and responsibly, and I have noticed their annoyance whenever someone calls them a blogger.For many, it is insulting to be associated with the works and ideals of blogging. And rightfully so, they have reason to feel as they do. Now, before we continue, let’s be certain we are all on the same page. Here, I am referring to trained journalists who have attained degrees in journalism and are actually working professionally in one of the many facets of journalism, i.e., news reporting, writers for papers, photojournalism, anchoring, corresponding etc.  The types of bloggers I'm referring to are  those who give bloggers a bad rap, and are arguably the reason journalist wish not ever be - the type of blog whose content is purely opinion-based and/or negativity in its nature.
Those are the type of blogs I even I consciously ignore.

As a working actor, I often times cringe whenever I am referred to as an “aspirant” or an aspiring actor.  I believe that it discredits my work and I don’t particularly enjoy being categorize alongside those who have not yet earned the title- as far as I’m concerned. I have trained as an actor, I have studied acting and I have had multiple paid acting gigs. So, if someone calls me an inspiring actor, I quickly correct them as well believe, for me, I understand there is a very clear distinction and skillset to be acknowledged. Now, on the other hand, with the invention of YouTube and various other platforms, many are taken advantage and building careers from the popularity they generate. Many traditional actors don’t consider these individuals “true” actors’ but I disagree to an extent. Arguably, they aren’t as knowledgeable as trained professional actors but they are still doing the same work, just on different levels but I digress.

Much like I feel about the terminology “aspiring actor” I could imagine journalists feeling the same way about “citizen journalism" and blogging. Mind you, I make no claims of being for or against either side of this “Journalistic Beeef” as I call it, but for the sake of a good argument I have created a debate-like show today. That being said, to be fair, let’s take the attention away from the negative aspects of blogging and mention some positives. Lets really take a look at it. Bloggers have the freedom to write publish content without any guidelines, they can be as experimental as possible and the more so appeal to emotions. No particular education or profession is required to be a blogger and they have extremely flexible work ours. Whereas, journalists have strict guidelines they must adhere to, they appeal to facts, most get professional journalism degrees and so forth. But despite the differences, it's all still journalism at the end of the day- just in different forms and tiers.
But perhaps, its the very differences that support journalists attitude towards the matter and why they consider themselves to be in a different class. Its a matter of credentials, perhaps? And what proud journalist wants to be grouped with those who do nothing more than bash celebrates and share messages of ignorance? But beyond the negative side of the blogging spectrum, there are many different types of positive blogs with quality content. Unfortunately, they usually have to deal with the same stigma. There are blogs about financial literacy, others blog about family life, many blog about youth development and even emotional and mental health. I , myself, blog about strategic communication and emerging media but I guess its similar to the old saying, one bad apple can spoil the bunch. Nonetheless, we all do our jobs and add to the online world and give readers who we are. So, is it all really journalism? Sure it is. But tradition holds more credibility and social rank- in a sense. Blogging , which is indeed a from of journalism, is still relatively new so as expected, its taking a while for some to come around. But hey, I have to end it on that note because that’s all the time have today. Catch you right back here next week with The SCEM Vie , with Deric!

Thanks.