If it’s blogged, is it news?

Recently I had the privilege of covering the Massachusetts Conference for Women as a reporter for Bay State Parent magazine. Over 5,000 women filled the new Boston Convention Center to hear from such luminaries as Washington Post journalist Anna Quindlen, former CBS News anchor René Syler, and business gurus Jack and Suzy Welch, as well as a host of other speakers with useful insights on a range of issues affecting women. You’ll be reading some of the highlights in upcoming magazine issues, from managing your money to juggling work and family while remaining relatively sane.

As I checked in at the press room to receive credentials and program information, I casually glanced at the list of who else from the media was registered. Names from the Boston Globe, Herald, and other print media surprisingly didn’t jump out at me. What did was the number of bloggers.

Somehow over the past few years, everyone’s a blogger and bloggers have become journalists. I’m not sure that’s a great thing. Don’t get me wrong: I’m no Luddite decrying new technology. Blogging brings grassroots views and essays to wide – but segmented – audiences, and that’s all good for democracy and for creative outlets. Blogs can provide on-the-spot commentary and current resource information like recall lists and calendar events. And blogs provide a way for the public to interact directly with the media.

But are blogs reliable news sources, with the kind of broad-based reach that provides a common ground for understanding and discussion?

I feel reassured knowing that there’s an editor looking over an article to review for basic things like accuracy, not to mention spelling and grammar. I’ve read many well-written blogs (hopefully you think Bay State Parent’s fits that category), but there are countless others that are incomprehensible. And although the news media have been rightly accused of bias, news is still supposed to be “just the facts” while opinions go on the editorial page or in columns. Blogs have virtually erased the line between news and opinion: Who’s to say what’s real and what’s my personal perspective? Buyer beware.

Quibbles about truth in journalism aside, the sheer overabundance of blogs means most people won’t read a particular blog. I wasn’t familiar with any of the blogs listed for reporters at the conference, and when I later checked one out, I found it was targeted to the niche market of twentysomething women living in Boston. The blogger may have written beautiful, accurate, insightful prose about the event, and most women in Massachusetts wouldn’t have a clue.

Blogs-as-journalism are here to stay, and just as we can’t turn back the clock to the time before cable TV, when everyone watched one of five channels and Walter Kronkite, Tom Brokaw or Peter Jennings gave us the news, we can’t assume that everyone gets her information from established news-gathering organizations. But I hope that bloggers and blog sites strive to uphold the standards and responsibilities that have been the bedrock of a free press since the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That would be an information revolution.

August Issue at the Printers!

Yesterday, we completed the August issue and sent it to the printers. It should begin arriving at more than 800+ locations in Eastern & Central Massachusetts next week.
Inside this 88-page issue is the 12th Annual Back-to-School Guide. Also inside August, we unveil two new departments - Working Moms & Sporting Around.
Working Moms will focus on the unique situations moms face balancing career and family, identify time and stress savers to make the most of family time, provide career advice (i.e., Should I consider flex time? Should I telecommute?), and profile real working moms.
Sporting Around will highlight trends, explain new medical concerns & breakthroughs, provide experts’ advice and tips, coaching information, etc. August's Sporting Around celebrates a century of swimming lessons at local YMCAs.
If you have ideas for either department, please drop me an e-mail at editor@baystateparent.com

Study: More Moms Want Part-Time Work Schedule

I was reading USA Today this morning and this article caught my eye....

Just when you thought the mommy wars were over, a new study shows the divide has grown over the past decade between employed and stay-at-home mothers.
But the study, released Thursday, also finds one area where both groups concur: Working full time is less appealing than it used to be.
The research, conducted by telephone this past spring by the Pew Research Center, compares the responses of 414 mothers of children under 18 with 457 mothers in 1997 who responded to a similar Pew survey.
Among working mothers, 60% now say part-time work is the ideal situation, compared with 48% in 1997.
Among at-home moms, 48% say staying home is ideal, up from 39% in 1997.
Bureau of Labor Statistics data for 2006, released in May, show only 24% of working moms work part time.
Pew surveyed a total of 2,020 men and women in 2007 about the societal impact of increasing numbers of mothers of young children working: 41% thought it was a bad thing, 32% said it made no difference, and 22% said it was a good thing.
Ten years ago, 38% of at-home moms and 39% of working moms said it was a bad trend. Now, 44% of at-home mothers believe it's bad, while working mothers who believe it's a good trend jumped from 19% in 1997 to 34% today. But 34% of working mothers still believe it's bad.

To read the complete article go to USA Today at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-07-12-mommy-wars_N.htm


Here at Bay State Parent magazine, we'd love to hear your thoughts on having a career and being a mom. Please post your comments here or e-mail me directly at editor@baystateparent.com