Hello Jeff,

my opinion is, that, as far as special interests (i.e. TAG/Heuers) are concerned, most journalists could
learn a lot from bloggers. Which journalist could deal deal with the expertise of Stewart, Mark Moss etc.?
And what about you?

Have a nice evening
WernerBoeinck

: Here 's a blog posting, from a so-called journalist, that is
: drawing some discussion this morning -- World Tempus Rant #4 --
: The Purple Haze of Bloggers

: So what do you think? Is there this great divide between
: journalists and bloggers? And where might the discussion forums
: fit into the food chain?

: Jeff

: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++

: When celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton can dub himself the
: “Queen of All Media” and mainstream news outlets pick up and
: reprint this proclamation, something’s gotta be wrong. Ditto
: for the 13 year-old fashion blogger given front row seats at the
: fashion shows.

: Bloggers are a force to be reckoned with, but very few companies
: know how to “reckon” with them. Indeed, the Swiss watch
: industry, not the most technology-savvy to begin with, is
: understandably leery of bloggers. The Internet is a great
: democratizing force, allowing everyone a voice and way to
: publish their point of view. The challenge with bloggers, in the
: watch industry and elsewhere, is that – unlike journalists,
: who have editors, publishers, proofreaders and fact checkers
: (the so-called “gatekeepers”) supporting them and overseeing
: what is published – bloggers are on their own, writing what
: they want about whatever they want. Once they have a following,
: however, a group of people who read them, they become important
: to the brands.

: Journalists are bound by a certain amount of objectivity – it’s
: not my job, for example, to tell you how beautiful or amazing a
: certain watch is. It’s my responsibility as a journalist to
: present the facts, to introduce the brand and its history, to
: talk about the way the watch was designed and developed, to
: describe the manufacturing and assembly process; then you make
: up your own mind about whether you like it or not.
: Bloggers have the freedom to write whatever they want to – to
: talk about what they like about a watch, why they like it, what
: they don’t like. No one checks their work, so it’s often
: riddled with typos and inaccuracies, and the pictures and videos
: are not that professional. Sure, these blogs are refreshingly
: honest, but at the same time, it’s just one person’s opinion
: and no one knows what agenda they have.

: Also, for many bloggers, it’s more about being first than being
: accurate. Does it really matter who posts the first picture of
: the next great watch? For me, it’s all about presenting the
: right story, not being the first with little story at all. In
: mainstream media, there have been several instances where the
: drive to be first has resulted in serious mistakes – remember
: when Frank Sinatra was declared dead a full three months before
: his actual death!

: I don’t know what the future holds for blogs, but there is no
: denying that they are influential and have to be dealt with. In
: fact, the only way for real journalists to counteract this
: purple haze of opinions and inaccuracies is to beat them at
: their own game: i.e. by getting on the web, as I am here at
: WorldTempus.