We just listened to a blogger talk about his experiences. During the question and answer session that followed, a few topics came up that I feel are very important.
When asked about the definition of journalism, our speaker felt content to vaguely define it as , basically, anything having to do with gathering or sharing information. This definition of journalism is not only unhelpful, it is harmful. In our nation, the people require detailed and accurate information concerning the current political situation, so that they can make informed decisions regarding our government. Someone must be tasked with providing this. Until the sudden onset of the Internet driven information age, this has been the domain of journalists. If they now consider their job to gather and share information about anything they want to, someone else will have to step up to the plate and provide accurate, relevant news. I do not know what group of people, what demohraphic, what organization or organization of organizations will provide this; but someone must.