Entry 2- are bloggers the new journalists?

The online environment has welcomed blogs into the mix since the 1990’s, however blogs nowadays have become increasingly influential especially on PR practice. They can help create relationships and are used as daily communication channels. This blog post will analyse the impact that the World Wide Web and blogs have on PR practitioners as well as exploring whether bloggers are the new journalists of this generation. A blog can be defined as “a type of website that allows the blogger to write posts and make them available in reverse chronological order” (D. Phillips and P. Young, 2009, p.12). PR practice has dramatically changed with the growth of the internet and new social media tools such as blogs. The internet is now used to broadcast news stories and it is used as a communication channel, blogs also are used to broadcast news stories as they are happening which are of interest to PR practitioners. Which is why it has become increasingly common for PR practitioners to get in touch and work with bloggers. Leading to the question been asked; are bloggers the new journalists of this generation?

“There has been much debate in PR circles as to whether bloggers are the new journalists” (R. Brown, 2009, p. 28). PR practitioners are now working with bloggers to gain an insight into the news that they are reporting. Brown (2009 p.30) states that “the social web provides us with tools for engaging with bloggers that were unavailable to PR practitioners in their dealings with journalists”. The internet allows for 2 way communication with bloggers, with being able to comment on blogs or tweet the bloggers, this again helps PR practitioners as it gives them an understanding into what the public are feeling which is something they couldn’t do if they were just emailing journalists. This demonstrates how the online environment has evolved to include tools such as blogs which have changed many PR practitioners’ attitudes towards building a professional relationship with bloggers. The online environment has changed the perception of many PR practitioners with the use of blogs, they are now used as a main source for news stories and the first port of call for practitioners to get in touch with.

“The structured announcement of PR stories to ensure that a key monthly title could carry a PR story on the same day as a daily paper came to an end when news organisations could release stories literally within minutes of receiving them”. This is now becoming increasingly common on blogs and micro-blogging sites such as twitter. This statement expresses how much the online environment has impacted PR practice through the use of blogs. Bloggers technically are the new journalists, they come together with the internet to write about new stories as soon as they have broken. This is why it’s crucial that “blogger engagement” is now practiced in PR, they can give PR practitioners the information they need instantly whereas it takes time to get hold of journalists and get the information needed off them. There are “500,000” new blog posts a day and “40,000 daily comments” (http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/08/02/blogging-statistics-facts-and-figures-in-2012-infographic/) this highlights the importance of blogger engagement within the daily practice of PR.

References

D. Phillips and Y. Phillip, (2009), Online Public Relations, a practical guide to developing an online strategy in the world of social media, London, Kogan page, p.12

Jeff Bullas, (2012) Blogging Statistics, Facts and Figures in 2012 – Infographic, [online] Available at: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/08/02/blogging-statistics-facts-and-figures-in-2012-infographic/#2mHRJwIMzilwkR2x.99 [Accessed on: 14^th December, 2015]

R. Brown, (2009), Public relations and the social web, London, Kogan page, p.4, 27, 28, 30