Comments on: Since when are blogs 'therapy', not journalism?

By: Los Blogs son Terapia, no Periodismo | CiberPrensa

Los Blogs son Terapia, no Periodismo | CiberPrensa — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 06:05:04 +0000

[...] Gangrey vía Reportr.net) Compártelo Notas:N.deT.: este hombre es muy mayor [↩]Aquí, Pete se refiere a la figura del [...]

By: Los Blogs son Terapia, no Periodismo | CiberPrensa

Los Blogs son Terapia, no Periodismo | CiberPrensa — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 15:17:53 +0000

[...] (Inspiración: Gangrey vía Reportr.net) [...]

By: feartheseeds

feartheseeds — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 03:21:11 +0000

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…

By: Mindy McAdams

Mindy McAdams — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 12:49:29 +0000

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.

By: feartheseeds

feartheseeds — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 23:26:43 +0000

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.

By: Bryan Murley

Bryan Murley — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 21:05:00 +0000

(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.