Is there news in tabloids and blogs?

Tabloids

Traditional journalists hate that readers confuse their mainstream news outlets with these "gossip sheets." The tabs carry loads of fiction, made-up stories like the baby who turned green because his mother fed him too much mashed peas and spinach. They have fabricated quotes, given phony names, paid for interviews and engaged in all manner of behavior unethical and unacceptable for journalists. On the other hand, they write engagingly and simply so that people never feel like they have been assigned homework. They also in recent times have broadened the definition of news. They have made rape, for example, a topic far less taboo than it was. They have led coverage of sensational crimes and trials. Most traditional journalists have responded with disdainful comments comparing the tabloids to garbage. Smarter traditional journalists have taken a lesson from this lower-class about aggressive reporting that goes beyond official sources and about narrative writing that captures the drama and intrigue of crime and trials.

To sum up this odd issue: I refer you to the movie "Men in Black" in which Tommy Lee Jones' character buys tabloids religiously because they are the only ones that tell the truth about aliens invading earth.

Is there news in blogs?

For way too long traditional journalists made fun of this form as news too. They scoffed that not anyone could create news and that reader/viewers needed editors to filter out what was important. Too slowly, but increasingly, mainstream media has begun putting information into new forms including video streaming, audio reports --and blogs. CNN, as one example, has begun using blogs and video to cover trials. Political coverage -- and campaigning -- is moving to coverage through blogs.

They can be fun to read because they are written in a more personal and conversational style than news in magazines and newspaper. They also allow for more opinion and commentary than straight news stories. But when this form is used by people who do not research and interview as they would for any old-style story, the result can be a stew of half-baked ideas and misconceptions.

As a final note, the question of whether bloggers are journalists has stirred up a lot of legal debate in recent years. Government officials appear to be willing to grant journalists some important protections that would shield them from having to reveal secret sources or be forced to testify in many court cases. But they don't want to include bloggers. This is understandable. Anyone could create a blog, claim they were now a journalist, and escape duties citizens are expecte to perform in helping the criminal justice system.