Journalism

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here for free access to the SAGE eReference platform!

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lowrey, W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Journalism, Vol. 7, No. 4, 477-500 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1464884906068363

Mapping the journalism–blogging relationship

Wilson Lowrey

University of Alabama, USA

Using a systems framework from the sociology of occupations, this article maps the journalism-blogging relationship, revealing areas of conflict between the two, vulnerabilities, and predictors of vulnerability. The systems framework suggests occupations exist within a network of other occupations and that they encroach into each other’s jurisdictional areas. A variety of factors shape these fluid processes. Factors that are external to the occupation include organizational division of labor, revenue needs, and relationships with other institutions. Internal factors include the degree to which journalists control the definition of problems and inference to solutions, and the success with which they solve problems. Difficulties posed by external and internal factors have led journalism to neglect some types of news information, which in turn have been poached by bloggers. These include partisan expression, ‘old stories’, stories driven by non-elite sources, and highly specialized content. A model for future study is constructed from these observations.

Key Words: blogging • journalists • news organizations • news sociology • online • professional control

References

  • Abbott, A. (1988) The System of Professions: An Essay on the Division of Expert Labour. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press .
  • Abbott, A. (1991) ‘The Future of Professions: Occupations and Expertise in the Age of Organization’ , Research in the Sociology of Organization 8: 17-42 .
  • Allison, M. (1986) ‘A Literature Review of Approaches to the Professionalism of Journalists’ , Journal of Mass Media Ethics 1: 5-19 .
  • Ball-Rokeach, S. J. and M. DeFleur (1976) ‘A Dependency Model of Mass Media Effects’ , Communication Research 3: 3-21 .[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Beam, R. A. (1990) ‘Journalism Professionalism as an Organizational-Level Concept’, Journalism Monographs 121.
  • Beam, R. A. (2003) ‘Content Differences between Daily Newspapers with Strong and Weak Market Orientations’ , Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 80: 368-390 .
  • Beisecker, A. E. and T. D. Beisecker (1993) ‘Using Metaphors to Characterize Doctor-patient Relationships: Paternalism vs. Consumerism’ , Health Communication 5: 41-58 .[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Berkowitz, D. (1992) ‘Non-routine News and Newswork: Exploring a What-a-Story’ , Journal of Communication 42: 82-94 .[CrossRef]
  • Blau, P. M. (1970) ‘A Formal Theory of Differentiation in Organizations’ , American Sociological Review 35: 201-218 .[CrossRef]
  • Blood, R. (2003) ‘Weblogs and Journalism: Do They Connect?’ , Nieman Reports 57(3): 61-63 .
  • Bloor, G. and P. Dawson (1994) ‘Understanding Professional Culture in Organizational Context’ , Organization Studies 15: 275-295 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Child, J. and J. Fulk (1982) ‘Maintenance of Occupational Control: The Case of Professions’ , Work and Occupations 7: 1-30 .
  • CNN (2005) ‘CNN Poll: Most Americans Unfamiliar with blogs’, March 3, URL (consulted 17 March 2005): http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/03/03/poll.blogs/
  • Copeland, H. (2003) ‘Power Laws and the Blogosphere. Blogads’, 10 February, URL (consulted 20 March 2005): http://weblog.blogads.com/comments/226_0_1_0_C/
  • Delwiche, A. (2004) ‘Agenda-setting, Opinion Leadership and the World of Web Logs’, Annual convention of the International Communication Association, New Orleans, LA .
  • DiMaggio, P. and W. Powell (1983) ‘The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organizational Fields’ , American Sociological Review 48: 147-160 .
  • Dimmick, J. and P. Coit (1982) ‘Levels of Analysis in Mass Media Decision-making’ , Communication Research 9: 3-32 .[Abstract]
  • Dimmick, J., Y. Chen and Z. Li (2004) ‘Competition between the Internet and Traditional News Media: The Gratification-Opportunities Niche Dimension’ , The Journal of Media Economics 17: 19-33 .[CrossRef]
  • Dingwall, R. (1976) ‘Accomplishing Profession’ , Sociological Review 24: 331-349 .
  • Dooley, P. L. (1999) ‘Journalistic Occupational Development and Discourses of Power’, in D. Demers and K. Viswanath (eds) Mass Media, Social Control and Social Change, pp. 333-358. Ames: Iowa State University Press .
  • Downing, J. D. H. with T. V. Ford, G. Gil and L. Stein (2001) Radical Media: Rebellious Communication and Social Movements. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .
  • Fine, G. A. (1996) ‘Justifying Work: Occupational Rhetorics as Resources in Restaurant Kitchens’ , Administrative Science Quarterly 41: 90-115 .[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Fishman, M. (1982) ‘News and Nonevents: Making the Visible Invisible’, in J. S. Ettema and D. C. Whitney (eds) Individuals in Mass Media Organizations: Creativity and Constraint, pp. 219-240. Beverley Hills, CA: Sage Publications .
  • Freidson, E. (1994) Professionalism Reborn: Theory, Prophecy, and Policy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press .
  • Gillmor, D. (2003) ‘Moving Toward Participatory Journalism’ , Nieman Reports 57(3): 79-80 .
  • Gillmor, D. (2004) We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People. Cambridge, MA: O’Reilly .
  • Glaser, M. (2003) ‘The Infectious Desire to Be Linked in the Blogosphere’ , Nieman Reports 57(3): 86-88 .
  • Glaser, M. (2004a) ‘Bloggers, Citizen Media and Rather’s Fall - Little People Rise Up in 2004’ , Online Journalism Review, URL (consulted 23 March 2004): http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/041221Glaser/
  • Glaser, M. (2004b) ‘"Watchblogs" Put the Political Press under the Microscope’ , Online Journalism Review, URL (consulted 21 March 2005): http://ojr.org/ojr/glaser/1076465317.php
  • Golding, P. and G. Murdock (1997) ‘Culture, Communications, and Political Economy’, in J. Curran and M. Gurevitch (eds) Mass Media and Society, pp. 11-30. London: Arnold .
  • Grabowicz, P. (2003) ‘Weblogs Bring Journalists into a Larger Community’ , Nieman Reports 57(3): 74-75 .
  • Griswold, W. F. (1999) ‘Shaping the News Mirror: Community Structure, Reporter Specialization and Content Diversity’, in D. Demers and K. Viswanath (eds) Mass Media, Social Control, and Social Change: A Macrosocial Perspective, pp. 183-196. Ames: Iowa State University Press .
  • Hall, R. H. (1999) Organizations: Structures, Processes and Outcomes, 7th edn. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall .
  • Hempel, J. (2005) ‘Are Bloggers Journalists?’ , Business Week, 7 March, URL (consulted 17 March 2005): http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2005/tc2005037_7877_tc024.htm
  • Hoff, T. J. and D. P. McCaffrey (1996) ‘Adapting, Resisting and Negotiating: How Physicians Cope with Organizational and Economic Change’ , Work and Occupations 23: 165-189 .[Abstract]
  • Hughes, Everett C. (1958) Men and Their Work. Glencoe, IL: The Free Press .
  • International Federation of Journalists (1986) ‘Declaration of Principles on the Conduct of Journalists’, URL (consulted 12 May 2005): http://www.uta.fi/ethicnet/ifj.html
  • Kirtley, J. (2003) ‘Bloggers and Their First Amendment Protection’ , Nieman Reports 57(3): 95-96 .
  • Kovach, B. and T. Rosenstiel (2001) The Elements of Journalism. New York: Random House .
  • Kramer, S. (2004) ‘Journos and Bloggers: Can Both Survive?’ , Online Journalism Review, 12 November, URL (consulted 23 March 2005): http://www.ojr.org/ojr/workplace/1100245630.php
  • Larson, M. S. (1977) The Rise of Professionalism: A Sociological Analysis. Berkeley: University of California Press .
  • Lasica, J. D. (2002a) ‘Blogging as a Form of Journalism’ , Online Journalism Review, 29 April, URL (consulted 23 March 2005): http://www.ojr.org/ojr/lasica/1019166956.php
  • Lasica, J. D. (2002b) ‘Weblogs: A New Source of News’ , Online Journalism Review, 18 April, URL (consulted 23 March 2005): http://www.ojr.org/ojr/workplace/1017958782.php
  • Lasica, J. D. (2002c) ‘When Bloggers Commit Journalism’ , Online Journalism Review, 9 September, URL (consulted 20 March 2005): http://www.ojr.org/ojr/lasica/1032910520.php
  • Lasica, J. D. (2003) ‘Blogs and Journalism Need Each Other’ , Nieman Reports 57(3): 70-74 .
  • Lasica, J. D. (2005) ‘The Cost of Ethics: Influence Peddling in the Blogosphere’ , Online Journalism Review, 17 February, URL (consulted 21 March 2005): http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/050217lasica/
  • Leicht, K. T. and M. L. Fennell (1997) ‘The Changing Organizational Context of Professional Work’ , Annual Review of Sociology 23: 215-231 .[CrossRef]
  • Lowrey, W. (2003) ‘What Influences Small Newspapers to Decide to Publish Online News?’ , Newspaper Research Journal 24: 83-90 .
  • Lowrey, W., L. B. Becker and A. Punathambekar (2003) ‘Determinants of Newsroom Use of Staff Expertise: The Case of International News’ , Gazette: The International Journal for Communication Studies 65: 41-63 .
  • McLeod, J. M. and S. E. Hawley Jr (1964) ‘Professionalization among Newsmen’ , Journalism Quarterly 41: 529-539 .
  • McManus, J. (1994) Market-Driven Journalism: Let the Citizen Beware. London: Sage .
  • McQuail, D. (2000) Mass Communication Theory: An Introduction. London: Sage Publications .
  • Matheson, D. (2004) ‘Weblogs and the Epistemology of the News: Some Trends in Online Journalism’ , New Media & Society 6: 443-468 .[Abstract]
  • Mitchell, B. (2003) ‘Weblogs: A Road Back to Basics’ , Nieman Reports 57(3): 65-68 .
  • Outing, S. (2002) ‘Weblogs: Put Them to Work in Your Newsroom’ , Poynter Online, 18 July, URL (consulted 23 March 2005): http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=6617
  • Park, D. (2004) ‘From Many, A Few: Intellectual Authority and Strategic Positioning in the Coverage of, and Self-Descriptions of, the "Big Four" Weblogs’ , Annual Convention of the International Communication Association, New Orleans, LA.
  • Perrow, C. (1986) Complex Organizations: A Critical Essay, 3rd edn. New York: Newberry Award Records, Inc.
  • Pew Research Center (2002) ‘News Media’s Improved Image Proves Short-Lived’, 4 August, URL (consulted 23 March 2005): http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=159
  • Pew Research Center (2005) ‘The State of Blogging’, 2 January, URL (consulted 24 March 2005): http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/144/report_display.asp
  • Pfeffer, J. (1981) Power in Organizations. Marshfield, MA: Pitman Publishing Co.
  • Powers, S. (2003) ‘Google is not God, Webloggers are not Capital-J Journalists’ , Burningbird, 23 February, URL (consulted 23 March 2005): http://weblog.burningbird.net/archives/2003/02/23/
  • Regan, T. (2003) ‘Weblogs Threaten and Inform Traditional Journalism’ , Nieman Reports 57(3): 68-70 .
  • Reynolds, G. H. (2003) ‘Weblogs and Journalism: Back to the Future?’ , Nieman Reports 57(3): 81-82 .
  • Reynolds, G. H. (2004) Instapundit.com, 31 December, URL (consulted 24 March 2005): http://instapundit.com/archives/020159.php
  • Ringnalda, P. (2003) ‘Are Weblogs Journalism?’, Phil Ringnalda dot com, 8 February, URL (consulted 20 March 2005): http://philringnalda.com/blog/2003/02/are_weblogs_journalism.php
  • Ritzer, G. (1972) Man and His Work: Conflict and Change. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
  • Rosen, J. (2005) ‘Bloggers vs. Journalists is Over’ , PressThink,, 15 January, URL (consulted 21 March 2005): http://journalism.nyu.edu/pubzone/weblogs/pressthink/2005/01/15/berk_pprd.html
  • Russial, J. (1998) ‘Goodbye Copy Desks, Hello Trouble?’ , Newspaper Research Journal 19: 2-17 .
  • Sands, K. (2004) ‘APME Survey: Newspaper Readers Use Blogs Cautiously’ , Poynteron-line, 13 October, URL (consulted 24 March 2005): http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=72653
  • Schudson, M. (1978) Discovering the News: A Social History of American Newspapers. New York: Basic Books .
  • Seeyle, K. Q. (2005) ‘Resignation at CNN Shows the Growing Influence of Blogs’ , New York Times, 14 February.
  • Shachtman, N. (2002) ‘Blogging Goes Legit, Sort Of’ , Wired News, 6 June, URL (consulted 17 March 2005): http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,52992,00.html
  • Shoemaker, P., M. Eichholz, E. Kim and B. Wrigley (2001) ‘Individual and Routine Forces in Gatekeeping’ , Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 78: 233-246 .
  • Shoemaker, P. J. and S. D. Reese (1996) Mediating the Message: Theories of Influence on Mass Media Content. White Plains, NY: Longman Publishers .
  • Simpson, R. L. (1985) ‘Social Control of Occupations and Work’ , Annual Review of Sociology 11: 415-436 .[CrossRef]
  • Singer, J. (2002) ‘Information Trumps Interaction in Local Papers’ Online Caucus Coverage’ , Newspaper Research Journal 23: 91-96 .
  • Singer, J. (2005) ‘The Political J-blogger: "Normalizing" a New Media Form to Fit Old Norms and Practices’ , Journalism 6(2): 173-198 .[Abstract]
  • Smolkin, R. (2004) ‘The Expanding Blogosphere’ , American Journalism Review 26: 38-43 .
  • Society of Professional Journalists (1996) ‘Code of Ethics’, URL (consulted 12 May 2005): http://www.spj.org/ethics_code.asp
  • Solomon, W. S. (1995) ‘The Site of Newsroom Labor: The Division of Editorial Practices’, in Hanno Hardt and Bonnie Brennan (eds) News Workers, pp. 110-134. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota .
  • Soloski, J. (1997[1989]) ‘News Reporting and Professionalism: Some Constraints on the Reporting of News’, in Dan Berkowitz (ed.) Social Meanings of News, pp. 138-154. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications .
  • Tuchman, G. (1978) Making the News: A Study in the Construction of Reality. New York: The Free Press .
  • Turow, J. (1997). Media Systems in Society, 2nd edn. New York: Longman .
  • Van Maanen, J. and S. R Barley (1984) ‘Occupational Communities: Culture and Control in Organizations’ , Research in Organizational Behavior 6: 287-365 .
  • Wall, M. (2004) ‘Blogs as Black Market Journalism: A New Paradigm for News’ , Interface 4(2), URL (consulted 4 July 2006): http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2004/02/wall.php
  • Wall, M. (2005) ‘"Blogs of War": Weblogs as News’ , Journalism 6: 153-172 .[Abstract]
  • Weeden, K. A. (2002) ‘Why do Some Occupations Pay More than Others? Social Closure and Earnings Inequality in the United States’ , American Journal of Sociology 108: 55-101 .[CrossRef]
  • Weintraub, D. (2003) ‘Scuttlebut and Speculation Fill a Political Weblog’ , Nieman Reports 57(3): 58-59 .
  • Wilensky, H. L. (1964) ‘The Professionalization of Everyone?’ , American Journal of Sociology 70: 137-158 .[CrossRef]
  • Zetka, J. R., Jr (2001) ‘Occupational Divisions of Labor and Their Technology Politics: The Case of Surgical Scopes and Gastrointestinal Medicine’ , Social Forces 79: 1495-1520 .

Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?



This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lowrey, W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?