Being that this is my first post on my first blog, and that this blog happens to be about my reactions to current day media and how different forms of media personally affect me, it seems appropriate to react to the realm of blogging, considering it is a major media form of today. It amazes me how popular blogging has become, because I used to consider blogs as a place for people to rant about their problems or share their personal experiences with anyone who had the time of day to read them. I have come to learn, however, that many bloggers have very reputable personalities and have interesting and credible information to share about their topics of interest. Blogging has become an undeniable resource for news, information, and communication – the very definition of what mass media is.
Bloggers have had quite the impact on the journalism community now that the Internet has become so prominent – which is interesting but also makes for uneasy feelings as a student hoping to go into the field of journalism one day. Shelly Sindland, a political correspondent for Fox 61 and TV Host of ‘Beyond the Headlines‘ spoke with me about blogging and political journalism for a project I had for my Online Journalism class. She said that although she doesn’t feel threatened by the “pajama journalists,” rookie journalists should feel somewhat uneasy about their rising status and importance. Although I am warming up to blogging, this advice from a professional keeps my reactions to blogging lukewarm. It’s hard to say what the future will hold, but my feelings are that if blogging continues gaining popularity, as I’m confident it will, other news sources will become back-up.
Blogging has become so powerful that it has even come to weigh outcomes for politicians and companies. Sindland talked to me about what an impact blogging had on the Lieberman-Lamont race and said that Lamont was successful because of the support system he had from his blogging community.
Something I found interesting on wikipedia, is that many bloggers differentiate themselves from the mainstream media. I really consider blogging to have become a mainstream form of media because it is a direct form of communication to the masses.
media darling 