And Jenny, you’ve hit upon a key element: self-editing. Cutting 10% before hitting ‘publish’ is a very healthy habit! As for increasing readers; harrumph. Seems to me SEO is the enemy of good writing…

But editing does help. Anything accepted by an editor has passed one major test – someone’s thought, “Hey, this is interesting – I want it!” You don’t get that by surfing the web.

Also, having a word length is a wonderful self-editor. I run a half baked travel blog (half baked only because I’m not travelling much, I hasten to add. ) I try to cut out 10 percent off the word length before posting each entry, & hope my writing’s better as a result.

Will it increase my readers? No. Because the more you write, the more words there are for google to find and the more visible and popular your blog will be.

Ah well!

You might recall I responded to Pam’s comment too, to say that for me there is one essential and very basic element that differentiates a ‘professional’ writer from a blogger and that is that for something to become a person’s ‘profession’ there’s an assumption that they’re earning most of their living from that job. The sad reality is that most bloggers still hold day jobs and blog on the side.

I’d then add all the things you’ve cited above – all very good points – plus training in ethics, journalistic law, and participation in professional activities, which is happening with bloggers going on press trips and conferences such as TBEX etc

Now Matthew, many journalists do go to university and sit for exams like doctors, lawyers and so on, but of course the difference is that a degree is not a necessary qualification for the profession, and some would argue doesn’t necessarily make one journalist more qualified or more ‘professional’ than another.

I agree with Abi too, that there’s some lousily written and edited journalism out there, even by some of the most established papers, just as there’s some dreadful blogging – and bad doctors and lawyers as well!

David, you make some great points also. Like you I see myself as a writer, author, travel journalist, and blogger at different times, when I’m working in different forms, and like you, I appreciate all those different skill sets that go with each role, though I’m not sure everyone does.

Now, to my surprise, I guess, as I’m being contracted (along with Terry) by a company to blog on Grantourismo http://www.grantourismotravels.com/ for a year, I’m now also a professional blogger, no?

Thanks again for the thought-provoking post!

I started my blog without the consideration on money and following, though.
So I suppose it’s like a hobby for me. I try my best to bring out the best
pictures, with good writing. cheers!

@unexpected – interesting idea, but – as I think you realise – not really workable…

@David – great points here. “You need to learn how to be a journalist” – spot on. Your point about gaining a following with a distinct voice as a blogger is also key, but what’s interesting is that newspapers do the same thing: they try to convince you that you’re a Times reader, or a Guardian person – but, in fact, I’d say the best thing about good journalism is that you don’t have to agree with it: you can appreciate the quality even while disagreeing with the sentiments. That, for me, should be a guiding force among bloggers too…

@Susan – nice to have you along. Thanks so much!

I think the whole journalist vs blogger argument is a new extension on the time old journalist vs writer debate. I’ve always considered myself as a bit of both (trained as journalist, but a substantial percentage of what I write requires more flair than journalistic skill). As I have a blog now, I guess I’m a bit of all three.

Each has a slightly different skill set. There’s nothing to say that a person can’t have the skill set for all three. I would, however, say you can be a born blogger or writer but you need to learn how to be a journalist.

What I write for Grumpytraveller.com is very different to what I would write for the outlets where I am paid and edited. It’s not necessarily better or worse – just different. Good blogging is arguably about gaining a following and becoming a distinct voice – good journalism is arguably about doing a designated task well.

I do feel that it is a pity that bad journalists and good bloggers exist since it means that the general public might mislead themselves into thinking that all newspaper/formal content is better than what they could find on the blogs – which is not always the case, as you point out.

Perhaps it would be an idea to have an international standard that can tell the reader what kind of writer prepared the item in front of them. It could rate a writer based upon the following:
- Honesty
- Verifiability
- Research
- Independence

A blogger might be proud to show that his articles are not researched as this implies an off-the-cuff, latest-news post. A journalist will want to show that his articles are well-researched on the other hand. Using such a rating, readers can then know that they’re getting what they’re expecting no matter what the medium is.

Something of the sort, perhaps audited yearly would help a reader. Who would pay for it though? Hmm …

The Unexpected Traveller

Headlines are a real problem for newspapers – and getting worse, I think. FYI they are not written by journalists, but by in-house sub-editors: they are written at the last minute to fit the space available and styled to suit the publication. I think people are fed up with crap, punning headlines, and I’d like to see them banned!

Journalists do indeed blog – but they’re often cut-down versions of what they might write for publication in traditional media, the implication being that blogging is regarded (wrongly) as a subset of journalism. However I don’t know of anyone who started out blogging but is now a professional journalist…

“The only criterion for journalists, by contrast, is that their stuff must be well written.”

Like this headline from a leading UK newspaper: Incredibulb! New lightbulb could save planet.

Writing for print and blogging online require different (if overlapping) sets of skills, I agree with you there. Is the writing better from journalists or bloggers? It depends. I’ve read some great and awful examples from both.

I’m not that sure the division even exists that clearly any more. Several blogs ARE edited – and the BBC now employs “professional journalists” as full-time bloggers.

Incidentally, there are also some frighteningly bad doctors and lawyers out there…a subject for perhaps another post.

This post was mentioned on Twitter by matthewteller: Another perspective on #travel bloggers and journalists http://wp.me/sySu1-bloggers...