The New York Times Validates Bloggers Everywhere

Today the NewYorkTimes announced that it would begin aggregating and re-syndicating some very popular American tech blogs including ReadWriteWeb, VentureBeat, and GigaOm as part of a redesign of it’s website. This announcement is huge for many reasons. All three blogs were started by individuals who had a passion for their respective interests in tech. All three blogs grew to become hugely influential and profitable, eventually including more correspondents and ‘reporters’. I’d argue that none of them have any training in ‘journalism’ or the media outside of what they’ve taught themselves by just doing it.

The Changing Face of Journalism

The fact of the matter is, no matter how many reporters a group hires, no matter how much is spent on recruiting the best talent, no matter how much training is given to them; some news is going to be missed because the people at the source are faster than people being sent to the source. The AP style of reporting is only so effective in an age where literally anyone can report on anything if they choose to. And no matter how close they get, they’ll never be closer than the source itself. If you work in the industry and decide to blog about technology, you’re sometimes so much closer to the information than any reporter will ever hope to be. Plus there’s the added benefit that you’ve got a gross understanding of the subject where as most reporters can only grasp the superficial by default.

Today’s announcement from The New York Times validates blogs not only as a news medium, but as the medium that will define the future of journalism. Will bloggers and citizen journalists ever replace your traditional reporters? I doubt it, but it’s undeniable that the best reporters on a subject are going to be the people living and breathing it on a daily basis. Obviously, groups like the NYT will continue to hire reporters but it’s also increasingly relying on deals like the one announced today to supplement that information in a way that they can’t afford to focus on in depth.

Capitalize on Localized Assets

For instance, if I were a media organization who reported on Africa, I would consider ignoring all the major media outlets on the continent and I’d turn my attentions towards influential bloggers and citizen activists. Being here on the ground, I’ve witnessed stories butchered by the local media, facts misstated and truths ignored. Instead I’d focus on building relationships with the passionate local independent media organizations (like Andrew Mwenda’s The Independant), the bloggers (like Ory Okolloh), and the businessmen (like African Executive).

Ultimately, as African news organizations scale with growing populations and growing economies they too will also have to consider the fact that some news is beyond their scope and capability to report on. In those cases they should turn to the experts, the citizens who offer grassroots insight.