Should bloggers be held to the same code of ethics as professional journalists?

by Troy Gardner

Created on: July 04, 2009   Last Updated: July 05, 2009

In answering yes I made an assumption. I assume that the bloggers we are talking about are the professional news bloggers who are trying to have an influence in society and to report news faster then any other media outlet can. I am assuming that we are not referring to Judy down the street blogging about her grandkids or the best recipe for white fish goulash. Professional bloggers should be held to the same journalistic standards as professional journalists for the simple reason that they are trying to be professional journalists.

Journalists are held to standards for a reason. With what they report, they can affect the outcome of elections, change the paths of traffic, force accountability on corporations and companies. They can also destroy people's lives.

When a reporter reports something that is unsavory, disgusting or otherwise unaccepted in society, they have forced that person into the role of a pariah. If this reporting is untrue, then that person is forced through a unique kind of hell. One where they are innocent of a crime that they haven't been truly accused of, found innocent, and yet that innocence rarely changes the perception of the first report. There is a reason that mudslinging works in a political campaign. Even if it is untrue, they are relying on the first impression that the mud splattering all over the figure causes. With this power it is very important to hold them to standards that minimize the damage they do when mistakes are made. They are human, after all, and will make a mistake eventually.

Another reason to hold bloggers to a journalistic standard is to increase their credibility. Often I will hear a piece of information from an associate, ask them where thy heard it, and immediately discard it as useless or untrue when they answer, "I read it on a blog." Unless the blogger is a known journalist with a credible publication, it is just about impossible to take them seriously. It's a side effect of the Internet wave. When every Tom, Dick and Harry can start up and run a blog, then who's to say that this Tom is Tom Brokaw and not Tom Glavine? By holding professional bloggers to a higher standard, we can at least believe that they are following good journalistic practices, you know, like verifying sources and not reporting gossip.

In summation, if a blogger wants to be taken seriously as a source of news and information, then they need to be held to the same standards as all of our sources of information. To hold them to a lower standard devalues the effect they can have and seriously throws their honesty into question. After all, wouldn't an honest journalist want to be held to the same standards he holds others to?

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