Response to "Blogging as a Form of Journalism" by J.D. Lasica

      There is no doubt that the profession of Journalism is changing right before our eyes. People anywhere can log onto the internet and publish a blog about their opinions on current events, health issues, politics or religion and be read by an audience. The way technology has transformed the way we get the news is absolutely amazing - and ever changing. Journalists must keep up to speed with the technology and it is essential that they learn what readers want in their publications - whether through broadcast media or newspapers.
      Dan Gillmor is one of the journalists Lasica spoke with about blogs and its significance in relation to journalism. In his interview, Gillmor says that he thinks journalists must be interacting with their readers - and I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with his suggestion. Gillmor says, "We're in the midst of a change, where journalism is changing from a lecture into something that resembles something between a conversation and a seminar, and that's pretty exciting to me"(175). Gillmor is touching on the fact that many blogs have turned into a discussion board of sorts - with readers interacting with journalists and giving journalists another point of view for a story. I believe this is a new journalism, and it's one that will stand strong in a more interactive, digital age. The internet has become a portal for interaction and it allows someone sitting in New York to share their opinions with someone in Los Angeles. It's a way for others to learn a differing viewpoint - and it can be especially valuable to journalists. With a wider more diverse audience, journalists will be able to get a more rounded story and to gain facts from a network of people who are more informed than a single journalist. As Gillmor says, "I doubt there is a beat at any newspaper or publication or program where it is not the case that the readers collectively know more than the reporter"  (175). If journalists join the blogging revolution instead of fight it, they are sure to broaden their scope of readers and hopefully create a more accurate and interesting story for them. The more they know, the more they can report. By allowing interaction between reader and journalist, they are welcoming more news, facts, and personalization into their publications - and we can only hope that this will snag the attention of readers.
      The new digital age is making a large amount of what is available in print accessible online, and it is important that we are growing with the technology. If journalists are unwilling to publish in a more public media (like blogs) they may miss out on an audience. More and more people are getting their news from the internet, whether it's because of convenience or accuracy, and its becoming a fact that is hard to ignore. If journalists are unable to put the news where their audience can read it they are only hurting themselves - as it's clear that blogging isn't going anywhere anytime soon!