Each week I sit down to write a blog, get out my notebook and readings and sit here trying to think up a fantastic lead. Sounds normal enough, but what I’ve failed to realize is that in the blogosphere the lead isn’t the important part…and neither is the professional journalist.

O’Reilly’s chapter this week focused on the changes “citizen journalists” bring from the blogosphere and to the media industry as more and more blogs are incorporated into their traditional news.

It’s a strange dynamic the industry faces. The two words together are almost oxymoronic, citizens are supposed to be the ones who receive the news and journalists are supposed to be the ones who report. It’s how America works, its how the world works.

But really, its how America did work. Today, our culture is challenged with a true test of democracy, one that forces us to reevaluate what the first amendment actually stands for and who it targets. In O’Reilly’s discussion, the blogosphere is seen as the ultimate form of free speech – and it really is. Nothing is held back, everything is dug up and anyone can open their computer, type a few words and have a say, regardless of whether that say is credible or not.

Wikis appear to be a great test to this. Through them, the public can self censor without the overarching presence of the government or a media organization. Wikis (and blogs too) facilitate discussions between both journalists and non-journalists; if blogs are the ultimate form of free speech, wikis are the ultimate test of that freedom. Take one of the most well-known wikis of today.

Wikipedia, the “free multilingual, open content encyclopedia…is the largest, fastest-growing and most popular general reference work currently available on the internet.” And not by chance. This place, where both experts and average people contribute to their passions adds an interesting dynamic to the whole blogger journalist and citizen issue.

Journalists write about issues, but the topics may not be of any interest to the person writing about them. Wikipedia writers, on the other hand, most often will not participate unless the topic they are writing about is their passion or an expertise. This means, the public is viewing answers from experts who’ve studied the topic, researched it and are qualified to write about it.

The same thing happens in blogs.

People blog about topics that are of interest to them; most people will not spend a good chunk of time putting together a piece of writing unless they care about. Not to say that journalists don’t care about the pieces they are writing, but when passion is behind writing, people notice.

Discussion Questions:

What (if any) new types of legislation do you foresee will be enacted as blogs have a greater presence in society?

What does Stefanac mean when she says “the only way to neutralize newspapers is to multiply their numbers (p. 79)?