Blog Journalism In The USA, China and Russia

By Pavel Koshkin

Because Internet technologies are so widespread today, everybody can write in their blogs whatever they want. This modern trend is often described as citizen journalism (or blogging). It is becoming a widely held consensus that in the near furture citizen journalism will replace traditional journalism because of its popularity among common people. Actually, blogging is controversial in nature. On the one hand, it’s not quite reliable because it lacks the professional standard of traditional journalism. On the other hand, people, including professional journalists, use blogs as a good source of information. Pamela Shoemaker, a professor in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse University, offers her thoughts on this topic.

Mrs. Shoemaker, do you believe citizen journalism is able to replace traditional journalism in the near future?
The movement of news content from traditional journalism, I mean traditional newspapers, broadcasting or cable TV platforms, to what is known as the Internet platform is a reality (Actually, I don’t think there is anything magical about newspapers). I read “The New York Times.” I find the online version of this outlet much better than the printed one. It has interactive features and archive of articles dating back to the 1880s. It is much more useful to me. I don’t consider that the movement of news to the Internet is necessarily bad. The quality of content depends not on the platform but on the people who produce this content.

What do you think about citizen journalism and common people who are engaged in writing articles and blogs? Do you think it might be reliable and objective?
Every person who produces media content for newspapers, radio or TV has to be judged by the audience whether it is reasonable or not reasonable. You have people who write their columns in newspapers. And, you may agree or disagree with them. It’s the same with blogs. I think the readers are able to evaluate the quality of content using it as it should be used.

Can you describe citizen journalism in China? Is it influential there in terms of autocracy and the restrictions in the Internet?
According to my friends at the Chinese university, blogs are becoming extremely popular in China. However, some people are being put in jail for the things they say in their blogs. If people want to say what they think, they have to take into account the demand. The government in China has changed dramatically since 1980. And, it is moving toward the situation in which the mass media are funded predominatly through advertising. Therefore, the media has to look not only at the demand of audience but also at the demand of the government, the party. Sometimes, the government decides to crack down on someone. And then, the next day, they don’t. They are going back and forth, back and forth. But I think overall the movement is toward more citizen journalism in China, in Iran, in every country. As for the most popular content that people comment on and discuss in online news, there are small differences between the USA, China and Russia. In my theory of the audience as a gatekeeper, human beings are essentially interested in the same type of news, unusual things, and peculiar norms of behavior, like in the Middle East, or new reforms that might cause social changes. For example, the health care system is major topic of debates in the USA because it’s the type of content that could change the social system. The economy and social changes are the topics that are much more popular in China and the USA than in Russia. But as for politics, this topic is less popular in China unlike the USA.

The increasing in blog journalism has caused the violation of media law, I mean intellectual property. How do you think should we tackle this problem?
It is very important problem and it is hardly likely to be solved in the near future. We have the content from all over the world so that you and I can create our own websites with content that hajs been used everywhere. It lies with the persons who are in charge of the website to become responsible and to either get permission to include the material or to start paying a fee or, may be, to go to jail.