Blogging. The peoples word.

Michael Skube begins his article by emphasizing how "bloggers now are everywhere among us" voicing their opinion on the internet, and they are doing it for free. He quotes Samuel Johnson who said that on a "blockhead" would ever write for free. Well here are millions of people, even successful journalists, "reporting" online, saying what they think on key issues for no money at all. According to Skube bloggers can write whatever they want on the internet without having any obligations toward a higher power (that being an editor of a large newspaper). Bloggers have the power to change thing in politics, media, almost anything by just writing their opinion on the internet. Skube tell us even though they have this power, none of it "makes them jounalists." In this article Michael Skube is simply stating and questioning this new form of journalism.

Both articles aknowledge that blogging is a new way of distributing ideas and opinions in a massive way, through the internet (last time i checked everyone in the world has access to it). Michael Skube sees that to write a good article, you need time and effort. He gives the example of Sitton, whom he had once worked with, and tells us that Sitton had put himself in danger plenty of times in order to report a story. This shows that he believes that a good story has to have been researched first hand before it can be written. Andrew Sullivan on the other hand views blogs as more relatable to the regular person. He says that blogs are "imbued with the temper of their writer", which means that the blogger has his emotions and opinions written all over his or her blog. This helps people understand and maybe become more open minded to some things that the big time newspapers may hide from us. They both agree that journalists have to answer to an editor. To Skube this is an obligation that binds journalists and to Sullivan it makes an article less trustworthy. I would say that they both would agree that the editor plays a part in what makes an article true and real. They also would agree that this blogging is changing the face of published writing everywhere.

In my opinion both writers make valid points in blogging. I believe that blogging gives its readers the true opinions and ideas of regular people. Its not some high paid journalist writing and getting his work changed to fit a specific way of public news. In a way newspapers publish things with certain restrictions which is not necessarily staying true to our first amendment right. Blogging is actually our freedom of speech, it gives us the power to write something that millions of people can read and access without having to answer to a higher power. Blogging is a way to give your view on issues that effect our every day lives, its a way of exercising a right without having to be a professional.