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Passion & Accuracy Often Separate Bloggers from Reporters

With the Internet now accelerating the evolution of the media world at warp speed, the concern should be over what's getting lost in the rush to report.

As electronic journalism professor Steve Klein points out on Poynter Online, bloggers generally demonstrate more passion for their subject than mainstream journalists. Many bloggers love or hate (or love/hate) their subject and that often is why they started blogging in the first place. And because of that ardor, says Klein, many less discerning readers (often fans themselves) end up preferring blogs to mainstream press. They get caught up in the emotion, especially if it’s validating.

But how much is accuracy sacrificed in the name of passion? Both passion and facts should be able to coexist, right? Professor Klein says, "Mainstream media would be better served by more passion, even at the cost of some objectivity (which could be viewed as heresy by the purists). Blogging would be better served by better reporting, although access often limits the extent to which a blogger can gather information. But as reporting and blogging continue to merge, both would be well served to remember what makes the other successful."

Now, while Klein suggests journalists have more access that bloggers, which is generally true, the Internet certainly has changed that to a dramatic degree. There's so much information available now to everyone, it's just a matter of knowing how to mine it and check it out.

So, in the final analysis, mainstream journalists and bloggers have something to teach each other: passion for one, accountability and accuracy for the other.

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