I came across a post on a forum the other day that had a title along the lines of “Blogging the Future of Journalism My A**!”  The poster basically shared her thoughts that  blogs were too biased and opinionated to ever be considered “real” journalism.  Well, if you stop and think about it, all blogs are going to be biased and opinionated to some degree because of all the reasons why people bother to blog in the first place.  Some artists will blog to highlight or showcase their creative works.  Some people will blog about things that really upset them or that they feel very strongly about. 

Whatever the reason, it usually stems from the fact that bloggers are typically ordinary citizens who are looking for an outlet for their voices, to share their thoughts and ideas with other like-minded individuals, without fear of reprimand or being flamed to death by other posters (like what typically happens on open forums).  There is very little that we the people have control over.  Nearly every aspect of our lives is dictated by someone or something else.  Even the few things that we can actually control (such as evening mealtimes or bedtimes) are usually worked in around things that we do not have any control over (like what time we have to be at work).  We get fed up with our voices not being heard, with being told that our opinions and ideas do not count for something.  But with a blog, we can share our outrage at a news article, we can share our latest and greatest ideas, we can put our opinions out there for others to read.  Our voice matters, if only for a few moments.  For most of us, it’s the closest we will ever get to our ’15 minutes of fame.’

The great thing about blogging is that the blogger gets to control everything.  How the site looks, what topics make headlines, even which comments make it through.   I suppose that some could say that bloggers have a god complex.  I like to think that it is just our way of making sense of a very unfair world.  A way to level the playing field, so to speak.  Whatever the reason for blogging, it has created an outlet for some very colorful and creative minds.

So bloggers, raise your glass.  Here’s to the ‘future of journalism.’  After all, not all of us can blackmail or sleep our way to an exclusive journalism position.