Blogs are just ‘bar room chats’, seriously

January 23, 2008 in journalism, newspapers
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More nonsense about blogs, this time from the former editor of The Times, Simon Jenkins.

According to Jenkins, a newspaper column is like writing “a collected essay”, while blogging is like “laying down your pen, going to the pub and telling the guy next to you what you really think”.

And if that weren’t bad enough, Jenkins continues digging:

It’s the difference between writing and a bar room chat, which is why I can’t take it terribly seriously who answers you back - it’s the sort of people you would get answering back in a bar chat

Surely Jenkins is smart enough to realise that newspaper columns and blogs are very different forms of media. And he should not confuse form and content when talking about blogs.

In any case, this sort of ill-informed commentary ignores the fact that five of the 20 winners at this year’s Online Journalism Awards were blogs.

But then, this is just a bar chat.

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4 Replies

  1. Laura Oliver

    January 24, 2008 at 2:15 am

    I couldn’t agree more - with this post, not Simon Jenkins comments.

    Watching the committee meeting where Jenkins made these statements there was an overwhelming sense of snobbery against blogs, as his comments met with nodding and chuckling from the Lords.

    Every so often online was mentioned, but it seemed, in my opinion, that this was only to say ‘we know what the internet is but we don’t want to humour it’.

  2. shawn smith

    January 24, 2008 at 10:13 am

    Great headline to get me into this post. Too bad for Jenkins and others who think this way. I think there’s plenty of people who give credit to blogs who wouldn’t if they knew they were reading a blog. Maybe if they were called “instant web publishing tools” they would be better regarded. Content is content. Anyone can put out a paper filled with garbage, just like anyone can put up a blog with garbage. But there are instances of both mediums being worthwhile.

  3. quirkyalone

    January 24, 2008 at 11:08 am

    I agree with Jetkins quotes in this blog post.

  1. 1 Conversas de bar | Bar Talk « O Lago | The Lake Pingback on Jan 25th, 2008 at 3:02 am

    [...] “It’s the difference between writing and a bar room chat, which is why I can’t take it terribly seriously who answers you back - it’s the sort of people you would get answering back in a bar chat.” I’ve worked in bars, and i can tell you,  conversations can be far more fascinating than any lecture at the best of universities. You just have to learn how to listen, and what to take from it. Visto aqui | Seen here : Blogs are just ‘bar room chats’, seriously [...]

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