A Fine Line Painted With a Thick Brush

The, "blogosphere" (a buzzword we here at QPHQ try to avoid at all costs) is full of many different types. There's those that host their own personal blogs in order to talk about their lives, their pets, their jobs, etc. There's also people who own and operate their own blog, but on a more professional (or at very least, less personal) level - - for instance, a developer blog.

Then there's, "the big three." You know 'em, love 'em, or hate 'em. Truth be told, you probably have some allegiance to one or another (personally, I prefer the writing on Joystiq to anywhere else.) Time and time again, the argument is brought up: Is a blog news? Is a blog journalism? The short answer is no. The correct answer is, much like most things, "it depends." However, some of us bloggers adhere to at least a rough outline of journalistic principles. Apparently not Jim Sterling.

Mr. Sterling, of Destructoid fame, had this to say in a recent entry on the website:

"I don't like using the term 'journalist,' to describe myself. As Reverend Anthony put it himself on RetroforceGO, I am a blogger, not a journalist. A journalist is someone who investigates, who goes out in the field, finds the news. He interviews, he prods, he asks the kind of questions nobody else is asking. What do I do? I merely spread the word. I look at what the journalists have brought to us and take part in what I've seen referred to as the 'blog echo,' the posting and reposting of news among the entire mass of gaming blogs out there."

Now I know that I don't speak for all of us when I say this, but I know I speak for some of us: journalism is at the very core of what we do. Without adhering to those principles, being proud that we are, to some extent, amateur (and often professional) journalists, we are simply writing fiction. Words like, "truth" and "honesty" come to mind - - important words to a journalist.

Now don't get me wrong, I understand the differences (and oftentimes, massive hurdles) the world of bloggers has to encounter versus print media. I appreciate the fundamental differences. This doesn't mean we don't operate on the same principles and it certainly doesn't mean we shouldn't hold ourselves to the same scrutiny. It is these very ideas that challenge, "the blogosphere' and its credibility, especially in a mainstream forum.

In so many words, while (on some level) I understand what you're trying to say in your piece Mr. Sterling, these kinds of "I am who I am" pieces about bloggers versus print media do no more than to draw a thick line between two nearly synonymous forms of media.

So, QP reader, where do your loyalties lie? Mine loyalties remain firmly with....me.