As Journalism Journeyman reports with online venues and mobile phones, many amateur and professional journalists are asking, "What is a journalist, and where is this field headed?" We have asked the same question here (see The Misplaced Fear of the Mainstream Media and Here is a Creative Blend of Mainstream Media and Social Media) and some earlier observations from 2005 (Notes on Blogging, Journalism and Credibility)
Journalism Journeyman adds that one way to gain perspective on this question is to read what other journalists are saying about this field and blogs are a good resource. The blog goes on to provide a very useful list of Top 50 Journalism Blogs. The list includes blogs that focus on citizen journalism, personal blogs from professional reporters, journalism school-supported blogs, blogs on a new media focus, organizational blogs and resource blogs that provide primary resources for investigative writing. We will not reproduce their list as you should go to their site but we will offer an example from each category.
Citizen Journalism
Global Voices: Over 200 bloggers around the world work together to provide translations and reports that normally are not heard from traditional media. As the site says, "Global Voices aggregates, curates, and amplifies the global conversation online - shining light on places and people other media often ignore." I got to know Rebecca McKinnon and some of the other founders of this blog while I spent some informal time at the Berkman Center in 2004 -2005. This is a great resource to find out what is happening in countries where traditional reporting is difficult to access and is useful for any country.
Personal Blog
BuzzMachine: Jeff Jarvis, author of What would Google Do? and Associate Professor and Director of the City University (NY) interactive journalism program, blogs about media and news at this blog. Jeff was part of the conversation I reported about in 2005 in Blogging, Journalism and Credibility.
School-Supported Journalism Blogs
Nieman Journalism Lab: This blog is "a collaborative attempt to figure out how quality journalism can survive and thrive in the Internet age." The blog is based out of Harvard, and collaborators include the Harvard Business School, the Berkman Center for Internet and Society and the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations. The first two of these groups sponsored the 2005 meeting I mentioned above.
Organizations
Society of Professional Journalists: This organization, founded in 1909, is a broad-based organization dedicated to encouraging free journalistic practice based upon high ethical standards. They include a list of blogs through their site as well as news.
New Media Focus
Hypercrit: Michael Becker writes about journalism, but with a broader lens on new media and digital culture.
