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

by Lenna Gonya

Created on: March 19, 2010

Blogging, by definition, is the act of someone expressing their views or opinions online. Journalism is supposed to be a trained professional, expressing the news in the most accurate and factual way possible, without taking sides, or coloring the facts.

Few bloggers feel the need to write unless they have a point to make or a view that they want to express. They are not reporters in the sense that they report the news of the day without bias or detached from reaction to the piece.

There are many types of blogs, “how to”, person diary blogs, and, opinions, but when you read someone’s blog you should be aware that is it being written by a person who has something to say that is their person opinion. When you read the blog, you should be aware, unless otherwise noted, that they are probably not experts in the field.

Even experts in various areas that choose to blog are expressing their personal findings, experiments, or opinions in that field, and, are often challenged by their peers.

Blog readers may choose to agree with, or follow the advice on the blog. They may agree with the blogger or not, but there is no guarantee or disclaimer given, usually, that the blogger is an expert in the particular field they are writing about. They are just people, talking to other people.

Professional journalists, however, are supposed to be governed by some rules of the trade. While this is difficult, and doesn’t happen all that often anymore, they are to be detached about their personal opinions, and try as much as possible to stick to the facts.

When we read an article by a professional journalist, we expect the facts to be verified, accurate, and checked thoroughly. If they have quoted someone, we expect the quote to be precise, and not taken out of context and distorted.

Bloggers should not quote others or use other’s ideas without citing their references, but, they have a little more freedom of expression, since they can, and do interject their personal thoughts in the piece. That is usually the reason they blog in the first place.

Journalism today is increasingly going the way of the blog, and, there is a fine line between the facts and conjecture. Reporters today are more and more expected to take sides on many of the issues they report on, and, they are often called out on it.

Bloggers should have the freedom of expression with the understanding that they are merely the common, everyday person, speaking their mind.

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