The Great Blogging Ethics Debate

Paul Grabowicz, director of the new media program at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, said while "anything goes in Weblogs," he hopes that they adhere to principles like attribution, evaluating source material for links ("not just throwing up [a posting] because they saw it") and not plagiarizing. "It is not a question of regulation or control or rules, as much as do you want people to see you as someone who is credible and to that, definitely there are some rules," the professor said. But Grabowicz said there are limits to what should be expected of bloggers since weblogs are online conversations that complement, instead of compete with, mainstream journalism. "I don't think they need to be held to the same standards [as journalists]," he said. "I would rephrase it as expectations. If you are gong to be running a blog and you want people to listen to you, then it seems to me that you have some sort of internal standards ... or else who is going to pay attention."

Journalism Ethics Resources

The discussion of whether blogs should follow ethics or not relies on an understanding of what journalism ethics entails. The Poynter Institute has a comprehensive page of links to all types of organizations and writings involving journalism ethics. The UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism also has a page of links related to ethics and online journalism.

Filter's Perspective

Blogs and bloggers of all stripes, whether or not they like this fact, have become part of the journalistic discourse. That hasn't stopped many bloggers from contending that they are not practicing pure journalism and therefore are not governed by the same ethics. This is a slippery-slope argument. Many bloggers say they want to be accepted by the mainstream media as another facet of public discourse, but this seems to be a hard goal to achieve if plagiarism, a cardinal sin in the world of journalism, is brushed off as a minor offense (or no offense at all). Just because blogs are a "free medium" doesn't mean that rules of playing fair need not apply. That's my two cents.

Sounding Board

Several Filter readers took the time to respond to my question yesterday, "Should the same standards of journalistic ethics be applied to blogs?"

• "Not at this point in the development of blogs. Readers know it's caveat emptor in that we don't purchase the information nor is it presented as any thing more than the blogger's editorial opinion. If one wants to read something quick, intimate and immediate, then one had better keep the antennae up and the filters on. And if a blog is outed as unreliable, that'll be the end of that." -- Earnest Thompson, Falls Church, Va.

• "The answer is 'No.' The difference is that bloggers make no bones of their biases. Examples: On the left -- TomPaine.com, TalkingPointsMemo. On the right - Powerline.com, Instapundit. However, mainstream media disseminates information under the guise of objectivity while their peculiar biases remain latent. If the latter want to operate under this fiction, then ethical standards need apply. ... Obviously, they should give attribution. Even Sean-Paul Kelly of the Agonist realizes this ... now. How about political parties and candidates posting and printing information that is clearly slanted and sometimes simply untrue? The recipient of this information, as recipients of blogging information, should be charged with the duty to filter out the obvious bias." -- Cory Skluzak, Denver, Colo.

• "I'm a weblogger. I'm proud of what I do. I go out of my way to credit sources whenever possible. Even when it's a reader to my site who just sends me an e-mail saying, 'Hey Dean, look at this!' and sends me a link -- I try to say, 'thanks ...for sending this my way.' As a blogger, I also immediately post corrections or retractions if someone points out a mistake or misstatement. I don't think it's about journalistic standards per se. It's about being a decent, ethical human being. You credit your sources, period. Weblogging should be viewed as opinion journalism." -- Dean Esmay of Westland, Mich., publisher of the deanesmay.com blog.

• "My answer is: not always. In the case of Agonist.org, or any other count of plagiarism, the only excuse would be if the blogger did not know the source, or had seen the same information from multiple sources. Agonist knew the source, and knew that it was 'exclusive,' but did not attribute. Hang him by his toenails. Bloggers who are intent on providing information should always cite their sources, even if it is personal conversation. Bloggers who are doing analysis and/or opinion should be careful with their 'facts.' And, certainly, quoting other sources should have an attribute. But to hold them to the same standards as mainline journalists, who normally have an organization which includes people who just check facts and sources, is a bit much. I would expect bloggers to be held to the same standards as a high school student writing a term paper. Cite, with attribution, printed and Internet sources. Quotes or paraphrasing from media sources should be acknowledged." -- Jim Teener, Alexandria Va.

• "I think the premise of your question is wrong. You are using the word 'ethics' to mean the relations of property and the rules that reinforce those relations. Rephrasing the question to read, 'Should bloggers be subject to the same rules of property that govern people who profit from journalism?' The answer must be, of course not. The sole reason those bloggers are out there is that those rules prevent full access to information and to the discourse concerning the war. I think it would be worthwhile to ask a question about the ethics of proprietary journalism in a time of national emergency." -- Mike Leffert, Albuquerque, N.M

• "I think your question, 'Should the same ethical standards be applied to blogs as are applied to journalistic pieces?' is insufficient. Sure, where the function of a weblog is similar or identical to that of a traditional publication, or a weblog entry is like a traditional journalistic article, then similar ethical standards should apply. For instance, out-and-out plagiarism is wrong, whether one is a traditional journalist, a weblogger, or a college student. But the more interesting question is, 'Where the purposes and functions of weblogging are different from those of traditional journalism, what ethical standards should apply?' ... Journalistic ethics are a means to an end -- accurate, complete, and truthful reporting of the important issues of the day. Where webloggers vary from those ethics and still consistently achieve the desired ends, that's a challenge to traditional journalistic ethics." -- John Adams of Atlanta, whose blog is www.jzip.org.

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