Making sense of the intersection between media, society and technology
Some startling and remarkably ill-informed comments about blogs, this time from journalist and author Pete Hamill.
On a talk show promoting his new book, Hamill was disparaging about blogs, advising young journalists not to “waste their time” blogging. Instead they should try to get a job on a newspaper “no matter how small, where there’s an editor who will look at you copy and say this will be better if you do this. Go somewhere where you learn the craft”.
As far as Hamill is concerned, most blogs are therapy, not journalism:
People who write them, except for the professional propaganda blogs, are there for therapy. They’re there so people can feel better about having thrown a rock through a window. But they’re not useful for information most of the time. They’re certainly not good for young writers to fall into the bad habits of an unedited blog.
This is like saying that young journalists shouldn’t work for magazines because there are some trashy celeb mags or supermarket tabloids.
Blogs take many forms – some are personal journals, some are badly written, some bloggers are self-absorbed. But to dismiss an entire new form of communication is short-sighted and ignorant.
It is so obviously clear that blogging can be journalism. As part of their journalism studies at the University of British Columbia, my students wrote blogs. These took the form of a cross between commentary/analysis and beat reporting.
As Mindy McAdams writes, of course it is great to have the tutalage of a good editor. But this is a separate issue to blogging.
This blog is run by Professor Alfred Hermida, an award-winning online news pioneer, digital media scholar and journalism educator.
No Responses to Since when are blogs 'therapy', not journalism?
Bryan Murley
June 29th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
(sigh) it seems these little digs come up every so often from different corners of the world. Authors and journalists who’ve made their name in the past seem to be unwilling (or unable) to admit that there are different ways to approach things.
I think you’re right to get students to blog. It’s a great way to show them how new media works. It also helps instruct them in the ins and outs of building an audience – not something most journalists worry about on their beats.
As for Hamill, I have little doubt that he knew this would be link-bait for bloggers around the world. Of course, he’s been disproven by the New York Times, who just hired Brian Stelter, the TVnewser blogger, to cover media for them, right out of college.
feartheseeds
June 29th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Blogs about “therapy” have proven to be very effective as a source for journalists and as a place where “journalism” occurs. Look at “Furious Seasons” http://www.furiousseasons.com/ for example, and the anti-Pharma crusade by “Therapy Bloggers” in the US.
I’ve won two semi-major awards for reporting and have a book deal, I’ve been reporting on and off since 1994, I find the Good Therapy blogs to be better researched and definitely more motivated than any “Mainstream” news source when it comes to the medical issues of today.
If by “therapy blogs” he means the “goth blogs” set up by kids to slag off Life Itself and their Grade Nine History teacher, or those set up by people wanting to discuss their LOL Cats’ Crap, then yes, those are useless and “Young Journalists” should definitely not waste their time on those. But decent Therapy Sites… like Salted Lithium http://saltedlithium.wordpress.com (plug), are definitely worth writing and reading.
Mindy McAdams
June 30th, 2007 at 4:49 am
That’s an interesting take on the “therapy” comment. I thought he meant therapy for the writer — for example, someone who is always whining in a blog, or venting angst, like I used to do in a written diary when I was a teenager.
feartheseeds
June 30th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
If an adult “journalist” is keeping a blog reminiscent of a childhood diary then there’s probably something more deeply wrong with the reporter than just the keeping of a blog.
I agree with the Pete Hamill quote:
“They’re certainly not good for young writers to fall into the bad habits of an unedited blog.”
except that it’s a cliche. I’d hate to be an editor charged with keeping recently graduated highs school kids in line with the CP Style Book, but by the time they’ve graduated from a reputable College or University Program most of these “young writers” know how to write a decent lede, whether they have a diary/blog/zine or not.
His definition of “therapy blog”, in my opinion, doesn’t exist within the parameters he set… yes, adults can whine and whinge just like children, but my assumption is an adult “Journalist” would have more interesting and informed things to misspell about.
Besides, anonymous blogging as a place for a reporter to vent might be a good idea for their therapy. As long as there are no “LOL Catz” I don’t see anything wrong with it…
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