Blogs vs Traditional Journalism: Are Lines Being Blurred?

According to some bloggers,and traditional media/journalists the Associated Press (AP) is trying to change it’s style.

If the new AP boss in Washington has his way, gone are the days were journalistic writing stays objective and covers both sides of an issue, and new are the days where emotive language and first person writing become the norm.

My first response after reading this news was that true journalistic integrity will be ruined if personal feelings, which many already speculate are clouding good media judgement, interfere with an accurate portrayal of the news. However, after reading a separate article from Ragan’s Daily Headlines it became clear that a lot of bloggers were up in arms about the announcement, which made me wonder why.

What do bloggers lose if the AP starts covering events in first person? Or, is it that the AP would be infringing on bloggers territory, known for first person commentary and emotive language? And most importantly to me and the industry I work in, what does this style change mean for public relations practitioners?

Granted, publications like the Wall Street Journal and New York Times already utilize both first person and emotive language, and blogs to communicate with their audience, but now according to Ron Fournier (the new “AP boss in Washington”), traditional journalism needs to adapt to meet the new trend.

Personally, I have room for both in my life and frankly, I need both in my life. As much as I enjoy reviews and commentary from bloggers and columnists, traditional journalism has its place too. It’s hard enough in today’s world with the barrage of news outlets available to us to siphon through the commentary and find the real meat in a story. I always recommend to friends, clients and colleagues that multiple news sources should be reviewed to help one form their own opinion of an event or news trend.

The good news out of this is that it will end any speculation about bias as (AP) reporters (out of the Washington DC bureau) will wear their true colors on their sleeve. If a bias exists, we’ll see it clearly. The bad news could be the deterioration of the traditional news industry. Where do we go for news when everybody writing has an agenda.

Heck, we even have an agenda. I’m a marketing communications professional so I tend to write (for this blog) from that perspective. Also, I stick up for my clients. In part because they pay me too, but also because I respect each of them for their business model and integrity in their respective industries.

Still, if this trend continues I know I will miss the days of reading an article one day and thinking, “gee, this journalist must hate democrats,” only to read an article the next day and think, “gee, this journalist must hate republicans.”

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