Blogs, news and credibility

an article by by Barrie Gunter, Vincent Campbell, Maria Touri and Rachel Gibson published in Aslib Proceedings Volume 61 Issue 2 (2009)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the emergence of blogging in the news sphere. If blogs represent a genuinely new breed of news provision, then they should adhere to some of the founding principles of mainstream news and journalism. A key principle in this respect is news credibility.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a review of recent literature about news blogging and assesses whether news blogs manifest many of the core attributes of mainstream news and journalism. The review considers the attributes that have previously been identified as defining good quality news and competent journalism and then applies some of these principles to “news” blogging.

Findings
There is no doubt that blogs have emerged as news sources of increasing significance and there have been occasions when they can be influential in setting news agendas. The essential qualities of credibility and capturing public trust in the news sphere, however, often depends upon the established reputation of known news “brands”. Although some blogs have emerged as reliable information sources in some specialist areas, they have yet generally to assume the key characteristics of mainstream news that drive public trust.

Originality/value
This paper provides an up-to-date review of a topic that is rapidly developing and attempts to set out some foundations on which further analysis of news blogging can be constructed.

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