- What do the terms blog(s), blogger(s), and blogging/to blog mean to you (it's okay if you don't know--just say so)?
- Do you consider blogs to be part of the press?
- Regardless of whether or not you think blogs to be part of the press, do you think they should be considered part of the press?
- Do you consider blogs to be part of the media?
- Regardless of whether or not you think blogs to be part of the media, do you think they should be considered part of the media?
- Do you think there is a difference between the press and the media? If so, what is it?
- Do you think anyone can create and maintain a blog or are there certain qualifications/skills one must possess in order to do so?
- Regardless of whether or not you think there are any such qualifications/skills one must possess in order to set up and maintain a blog, should there be certain qualifications/skills one must possess in order to blog? Why do you feel this way?
- If you answered in the affirmative to the last question, what qualifications/skills do you think one should possess in order to blog?
- Do you consider bloggers (those who write blogs) to be reporters?
- Regardless of whether or not you consider them to be reporters, do you think bloggers should be considered to be reporters?
- Do you think bloggers have any special legal standing/legal rights?
- Regardless of whether or not you think bloggers have any special legal standing/rights, should they have any such legal standing0/rights?
- Do you think there are any guidelines that bloggers should follow in their blogs?
- Regardless of whether or not you think there are any guidelines for bloggers, should there exist such guidelines? If so, what should they be?
- Do you think bloggers are under any moral and/or legal obligations in their blogs?
- Regardless of whether or not you think bloggers are under any moral and/or legal obligations, should they be under any moral and/or legal obligations? If so, what should they be?
- Do you think there is a difference between anonymous and non-anonymous bloggers/blogging?
- Do you think bloggers need to reveal who they are? Why?
- How would it affect your opinion if they don't reveal who they are (the blogger(s) remain(s) anonymous)?
- How much do you think a blogger should reveal about her/himself to his/her readers?
- Finally, may I quote your responses in my article? If so, may I use your name, part of your name, or would you prefer to remain anonymous? :-)
[Updated 13 June 2007]
Finally, some general demographic questions:
- About how long have you been using computers?
- About how long have you been using the Internet/have you been online?
- Do you read blogs on a regular basis? If so, approximately how many do you read?
- How did you come across this questionnaire?
- Can you give me a little background about yourself (e.g., are you a fellow blogger, a journalist, a lawyer, etc.)?
- What is your gender (male/female/MTF/FTM/other)?
- Where do you reside?
- In what field do you work (e.g., legal, journalism, IT, etc.)?
- Approximately how old are you (e.g., teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, etc.)?
- Are there any questions you'd like to see covered on this questionnaire?
- Is there anything else you'd like to add?
[For my Gather.com friends, here's a link back to the article that may have referred you here, so you can leave your comments/ratings, etc.]
1. Blogs are online articles, written by authors termed "bloggers"
ReplyDelete2. No
3. No
4. Yes
5. Yes
6. Yes, the difference between the press and the media is fundamental purpose. The press is to accurately inform the public, with documented sources for statements of facts. The media is to entertain the public, truth and accuracy is not imperative to its purpose.
7. Anyone can do it, the quality will vary
8. If the blogger is going to purport himself as a press/news provider, then he should provide some sort of fact-checking option. If his purpose is not to disseminate truthful information, he should probably say that.
9. In a venue as open as the internet, poor bloggers will not get noticed.
10. Not unless they have stated they are.
11. Not unless they provide necessary credentials and sourcing.
12. None, that anyone else in this country already has.
13. No
14. No
15. Maybe just full disclosure
16. No
17. Maybe just the "Can't yell fire in a crowded theatre" example
18. No
19. No, anonymity allows freedom of expression
20. I would distrust the accuracy of an anonymous blogger more than a revealed one
21. As much as he wants
22. Sure, use my name
23. Since the 80's in elementary school
24. For as long as it has been around- 15 years maybe?
25. I read 2-3 regularly
26. Gather
27. I am a chef
28. Female
29. St. Pete, FL
30. Domestic Service
31. 34
32. No
33. No
Let's see here:
ReplyDeleteQ. What do the terms blog(s), blogger(s), and blogging/to blog mean to you (it's okay if you don't know--just say so)?
A. A blogger is anyone who writes about news or issues or their life on the Internet.
Q. Do you consider blogs to be part of the press? Regardless of whether or not you think blogs to be part of the press, do you think they should be considered part of the press?
A. Absolutely. Citizen journalism in and of itself is becoming a press standby, for everything from in-person camera phone shots of tragedies to the aforementioned blogs, often in the form of investigative journalism by those with first-hand knowledge.
Q. Do you consider blogs to be part of the media? Regardless of whether or not you think blogs to be part of the media, do you think they should be considered part of the media?
A. Ditto to my answer above.
Q. Do you think there is a difference between the press and the media? If so, what is it?
A. No difference, in my book -- err my newspaper, magazine, newsletter or website.
Q. Do you think anyone can create and maintain a blog or are there certain qualifications/skills one must possess in order to do so?
Regardless of whether or not you think there are any such qualifications/skills one must possess in order to set up and maintain a blog, should there be certain qualifications/skills one must possess in order to blog? Why do you feel this way?
A. Anyone can write a blog, simply based on their experience. I do, however, think that the valuable content is that which is well-researched and well-communicated.
Q. If you answered in the affirmative to the last question, what qualifications/skills do you think one should possess in order to blog?
A. I believe bloggers should have the ability to fact check everything they write about and write in a clear, concise and spell-checked form.
Q. Do you consider bloggers (those who write blogs) to be reporters?
Regardless of whether or not you consider them to be reporters, do you think bloggers should be considered to be reporters?
A. Bloggers are indeed reporters, reporting either on the events in their life, or providing context to events that occur in the news.
Q. Do you think bloggers have any special legal standing/legal rights? Regardless of whether or not you think bloggers have any special legal standing/rights, should they have any such legal standing/rights?
A. Bloggers should be given press access to events that fall within their beats, at least that's my position.
Q. Do you think there are any guidelines that bloggers should follow in their blogs? Regardless of whether or not you think there are any guidelines for bloggers, should there exist such guidelines? If so, what should they be?
A. Bloggers should clearly indicate potential conflicts of interest, research what they purport as facts, and make efforts to write professionally (using spell check and self-editing).
Q. Do you think bloggers are under any moral and/or legal obligations in their blogs? Regardless of whether or not you think bloggers are under any moral and/or legal obligations, should they be under any moral and/or legal obligations? If so, what should they be?
A. With the power of the press comes a certain responsibility. Bloggers should not commit libel against others, so they'll need to study up on the Associated Press guidelines on libel law.
Q.Do you think there is a difference between anonymous and non-anonymous bloggers/blogging?
Do you think bloggers need to reveal who they are? Why?
How would it affect your opinion if they don't reveal who they are (the blogger(s) remain(s) anonymous)? How much do you think a blogger should reveal about her/himself to his/her readers?
A. That is up to the blogger. I can understand that if a blogger is posting incredibly personal things that they may not want their identity known. However, if a blogger is posting things that being portrayed as "news" that impacts others beyond themselves, then a trackable identity of some sort should be given.
Q. Finally, may I quote your responses in my article? If so, may I use your name, part of your name, or would you prefer to remain anonymous? :-)
A. My comments are here. Feel free to use them. As a professional journalist and founder of a journalism conference here in the Pacific Northwest, I hope this helps provide a guide for all of us participating in this grand ol' blogosphere.
Q. About how long have you been using computers?
A. 13 years
Q. About how long have you been using the Internet/have you been online?
A. 11 years
Q. Do you read blogs on a regular basis? If so, approximately how many do you read?
A. About a dozen per week
Q. How did you come across this questionnaire?
A. Through your post at the blogging community financed by American Public Media, Gather.com.
Q. Can you give me a little background about yourself (e.g., are you a fellow blogger, a journalist, a lawyer, etc.)?
A. I am a fellow blogger and journalist.
Q. What is your gender (male/female/MTF/FTM/other)?
A. Other? Really? I'm a female by the way. ; )
Q. Where do you reside?
A. The Pacific Northwest
Q. In what field do you work (e.g., legal, journalism, IT, etc.)?
A. Journalism.
Q. Approximately how old are you (e.g., teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, etc.)?
A. Aren't we all 29?
Q. Are there any questions you'd like to see covered on this questionnaire?
A. You've pretty much covered them all.
Q. Is there anything else you'd like to add?
A. Thank you for your inquiry and I look forward to reading your final analysis. (Incidently, I used ieSpell to spell check this comment before posting, a strategy I learned about through one of the bloggers on Gather.com. It's a great freeware program for spell checking text within most text windows online.)