Marketing Nirvana

I stumbled through a series of articles on blogger identity after reading about Market Watch Blogger/Columnist Bambi Francisco’s recent resignation.

Owen Thomas of Business 2.0 opines:

I have a wild and crazy idea for new-media types who are trying to win the trust of their audience and make a buck: Don’t just disclose your conflicts of interest. Try to actively avoid them. Transparency is good. But actually having nothing to hide is even better.

I thought this was really interesting, esp. in the light of my discussion earlier this week at the social media club where we asked the question: “Are bloggers journalists?” and if so what are their responsibilities:

Here’s a train of thought on that question, over the past three years:

1. 2005 | Business Week article:

A California judge issued a preliminary ruling on Mar. 3 that three bloggers who published leaked information about an unreleased Apple (AAPL ) product must divulge their confidential sources. If the ruling holds, it will set a precedent certain to reverberate through the blogosphere because this means under the law bloggers aren’t considered journalists.

Here’s the CS Monitor article on the same piece: Are bloggers journalists?

Bloggers, some observers say, are becoming major players in everything from national politics to consumer trends. As a result, “their conflicts, motives, and agendas matter enormously,” says Zephyr Teachout, who served as Internet director for the Howard Dean campaign.

2. 2006 | WOMMA to go…

(Source: Josh Hallett’s WOMMA 2006 Flickr stream)

Towards the end of last year, Josh Hallet, blogged about such a discussion at the WOMMA summit. In Josh’s own words:

If she had to do it all over again she might not have gone back to journalism school, she’d be a blogger. She thinks the impetus for bloggers and journalists is to have a voice. (Julia Hood, Editor-in-Chief, PRWeek)

I feel they are journalists, but of the citizen variety. The lines of traditional media are blurring, entertainment is mixing with hard news, etc. (Peter Himler, Flatiron Communications)

3. 2007 | Blogger or Journalist or Activist?

Just last week, Josh Wolf, video blogger emerged from almost 8 months in a federal prison, believing in the strength of his conviction as a “journalist”, for refusing to divulge his sources.

Is Josh a journalist? Here are two ways of looking at it:

I think that you can be a blogger and be a journalist,” Saunders (Debra Saunders, SF Chronicle) tells me from her office at the Chronicle. “There are people who fit that [description], but when you’re an activist cavorting with the people you’re chronicling, then you are not a journalist.

Here’s a subtle variation on that theme:

The fact that Josh Wolf has strong political views does not disqualify him from being a journalist any more than the fact that I am an editorial page editor and have opinions disqualifies me from being a journalist,” says John Diaz of the Chronicle. “The fact is, he was out at that rally, collecting information to disseminate to the public. I think that makes him a journalist.

So, are bloggers really journalists?