Fellow Kossacks - I am asking for your imput. Next Tuesday, I am being interviewed by my local CBS affiliate about blogging and journalism. I teach this stuff for a living, but I am an academic and not a professional journalist, or even quasi-journalist...
While I have some ideas about why journalists should pay attention to blogs and what the impact of blogs on the current state of journalism might be, I would really love to hear from those of you who might be in a position to add a professional opinion.
In addition, the journalist interviewing me wants to know if blogs make people less likely to watch/read traditional news sources. Of course, I believe blogs actually make people look at news from a wider variety of sources, but I think some more traditional journalists are afraid blogs drive people away from traditional outlets (she might be onto something there in terms of television news...).
And some academic journalists are quick to dismiss blogs - those bloggers are just slackers with too much time on their hands, a liberal vendetta and a cable modem...and so on.
Any input would be appreciated. I've also never been interviewed for television news before. Thank jebus it ain't the local FOX affiliate.
Thanks in advance.