I'm a Video Blogger, not a journalist

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There are some people who are very confused about the role of bloggers versus journalists. Some think that bloggers like me are supposed to follow some ethic of journalism. That's wrong and its confining. Plus, it's just plain boring!

I'm a blogger, a video blogger, not a journalist. Moreover, I don't want to be a journalist. I have the greatest respect for journalists, but that's not where I live. I blog. Freely and often, I blog. I use videos more than others and that makes me a vlogger. I'm not subordinate to a journalist; I'm media. I have a point of view and I share it. I'm not a journalist.

I have over 2,000 posted videos and 10,000 blog posts. I'm a video-blogger.

Blogging ethics

Ironically, it was Jay Rosen, a noted professor of journalism at New York University, who correctly explained "blogger ethics". He wrote:

If “ethics” are the codification in rules of the practices that lead to trust on the platform where the users actually are—which is how I think of them—then journalists have their ethics and bloggers have theirs.

* Good bloggers observe the ethic of the link.

* They correct themselves early, easily and often.

* They don’t claim neutrality but they do practice transparency.

* They aren’t remote, they habitually converse.

* They give you their site, but also other sites as a proper frame of reference. (As with the blogroll.)

* When they grab on to something they don’t let go; they “track” it.

And Rebecca Blood has a definition of weblog ethics that would curl the hair of a journalist, if they had any. But in her case she hugs and embrases the idea of the free-form blogger. Still she has another set of rules:

1. Publish as fact only that which you believe to be true.
2. If material exists online, link to it when you reference it.
3. Publicly correct any misinformation.
4. Write each entry as if it could not be changed; add to, but do not rewrite or delete, any entry.
5. Disclose any conflict of interest.
6. Note questionable and biased sources.

If I write about a friend, like Oakland City Attorney John Russo, you know it, because I wrote or said so as I did here:



If I was given something, I say so. If I purchased lunch for someone you know it. It's up to you to either watch or go elsewhere. But on that, I've found I get the best interviews when someone talks with a full stomach.

My rule is that I insist on making quick blog update and corrections and I do so where necessary. I track an issue. And I'm biased. I use video because its authentic as I did in this one about the Harry's bouncer and the patron:



In short, I give you the World through my eyes. I give a person a platform on video, but still its through my camcorder. I talk to people I don't agree with and you know it; I talk with people I do agree with and you know it. That's my style. I insist on smart conversation but punish personal attacks. I love a good debate. I hate cyberstalkers. I'm a video-blogger not a journalist. And I'm proud of it.

Stop Twitter Phishing Now!

"Phishing" is the act of sending a "safe" looking email that asks you to give out sensitive information: your username and password. That practice has found it's way to Twitter. Here's what you should do if it happens to you.

Why Are Newspapers Dying? - O'Reilly Broadcast

Why Are Newspapers Dying? - O'Reilly Broadcast: “The emergence of the Internet proved newspapers' most challenging competitor, and the one that ultimately may have managed to do the newspaper industry in altogether. Most newspapers, from the veritable New York times on down, launched their own websites, reasoning that this was simply another medium in which to publish their own writers, but this viewpoint may have been somewhat shortsighted.

In 2003, the term blog first entered into the modern lexicon, an online editorial or journal written not by professional journalists but by eager amateurs who could publish by overcoming a far smaller barrier to entry - setting up a blogging site. With contemporary tools, the blogger could effectively start producing his or her own "news" within a few hours, and if they happened to be reasonably competent, were willing to invest some time into promotion and consistent in publishing content, they had a good chance to gain more "eyeballs" than professional journalists with thirty years of experience.

As of April, 2008, only three newspapers had a subscriber base in excess of 1,000,000 readers - USA Today (2.3 million), The Wall Street Journal (2.1 million) and the New York Times (1.1 million). Most newspapers average approximately 300,000 subscribers. This of course doesn't reflect total readership numbers - many papers sell a significant proportion of their subscriber levels in newsstand and library sales - but it does provide at least a basic metric for understanding the dynamics of newspaper publishing vs. the web.”

Why Are Newspapers Dying? - O'Reilly Broadcast

Why Are Newspapers Dying? - O'Reilly Broadcast: “The emergence of the Internet proved newspapers' most challenging competitor, and the one that ultimately may have managed to do the newspaper industry in altogether. Most newspapers, from the veritable New York times on down, launched their own websites, reasoning that this was simply another medium in which to publish their own writers, but this viewpoint may have been somewhat shortsighted.

In 2003, the term blog first entered into the modern lexicon, an online editorial or journal written not by professional journalists but by eager amateurs who could publish by overcoming a far smaller barrier to entry - setting up a blogging site. With contemporary tools, the blogger could effectively start producing his or her own "news" within a few hours, and if they happened to be reasonably competent, were willing to invest some time into promotion and consistent in publishing content, they had a good chance to gain more "eyeballs" than professional journalists with thirty years of experience.

As of April, 2008, only three newspapers had a subscriber base in excess of 1,000,000 readers - USA Today (2.3 million), The Wall Street Journal (2.1 million) and the New York Times (1.1 million). Most newspapers average approximately 300,000 subscribers. This of course doesn't reflect total readership numbers - many papers sell a significant proportion of their subscriber levels in newsstand and library sales - but it does provide at least a basic metric for understanding the dynamics of newspaper publishing vs. the web.”

Ms. Huffington Shills a Book She Didn't Write / Jossip

Ms. Huffington Shills a Book She Didn't Write / Jossip Jossip slams Arinna Huffington's new book on blogging.

Zennie Abraham's Visit To CNN Atlanta HQ and iReport Team

This is a video of my visit to the CNN Atlanta Headquarters and to meet the iReport and CNN International people who've been so good to me. I took my Mom as I thought it would be a treat for her as well, especially since she keeps her TV on CNN.  


The iReport staff is pretty much like one would see at any Bay Area Internet startup and so I fell right in with their culture. Fun people. Jessica Ellis of CNN International who "discovered me" for the iReport coverage at the Democratic Convention, gave us a great tour of CNN from a behind the scenes view -- not the standard tourist tour.


Thanks to Jessica, Errol Barnett, David Washington, and the iReport and CNN International staff for being so great.

JOHN EDWARDS CONFIRMS RUMORS OF RIELLE HUNTER AFFAIR TO ABC - EDWARDS STATEMENT

Finally, former Senator and Presidential candidate John Edwards has just admitted to ABC News that he did indeed have an affair with Rielle Hunter -- a story covered here since last fall. This was reported on CNN. You can read the whole rest of the story here at Zennie's Zeitgeist.

Edwards says that the affair started after his wife's revalation of Cancer in 2006, but that he did not get her pregnant. He's not taken a test to confirm this.

EDWARDS STATEMENT:

In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness. Although I was honest in every painful detail with my family, I did not tell the public. When a supermarket tabloid told a version of the story, I used the fact that the story contained many falsities to deny it. But being 99% honest is no longer enough.

I was and am ashamed of my conduct and choices, and I had hoped that it would never become public. With my family, I took responsibility for my actions in 2006 and today I take full responsibility publicly. But that misconduct took place for a short period in 2006. It ended then. I am and have been willing to take any test necessary to establish the fact that I am not the father of any baby, and I am truly hopeful that a test will be done so this fact can be definitively established. I only know that the apparent father has said publicly that he is the father of the baby. I also have not been engaged in any activity of any description that requested, agreed to or supported payments of any kind to the woman or to the apparent father of the baby.

It is inadequate to say to the people who believed in me that I am sorry, as it is inadequate to say to the people who love me that I am sorry. In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. If you want to beat me up - feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been stripped bare and will now work
with everything I have to help my family and others who need my help.

I have given a complete interview on this matter and having done so, will have nothing more to say.

My take on this news:



The back story of the affair: