Not Just an Alliance, An Organization

There are a lot of bloggers forming groups on the net. Alliances, so to speak. The foremost question I still here is about our credibility and our responsibility. Lets look into this and then I'll pose a challenge to the blogisphere.

Are bloggers credible? Are bloggers responsible? Well, a major part of the blogisphere is. Of course, there is always the "I stubbed my toe today, let me know what you think" guy out there. I feel the majority of bloggers are trying to convey the truth about what there topic is. The mainstream media is covering blogs. We are on CNN, MSNBC, the local papers and local TV reports. We are getting White House press passes, and I'm not speaking of Jeff Gannon. We are a self-policing community, that is quick to strike down fallacies and falsehoods. "We will fact check your ass", I have heard time and again. There are times when we too get bad info. There is always the opportunity to correct our work and right a wrong, and that usually happens quickly in our community. After all, if you were to publish incorrect facts, that deface an individual or their integrity and caused them damage of any sort, you are just as liable as the New York Times. That's right folks, you are responsible for liable and slander. Credible, depends on the material. Responsible, you have to be. I like to follow the ethics guidelines supplied by Journalism.org. I highly recommend them to all. A bloggers credibility is based on their material. If it is credible, factual and offers insight into a specific subject, then by all means yes. If it is OP-ED stuff then that's what it is.

Here is my idea and challenge to the blogisphere: Enough alliances. The Associated Press is a news force. Reuters is a news force. Why can't we have a similar news force. The Associated Bloggers Press? I challenge us to start one. We are credible and responsible. If we are supplying content to the mainstream media, we should be compensated. Shouldn't we? Yes, it requires money and connections. Most of all it requires that we all band together as a community and start valuing what we do.