Weblogs and journalism intersect

The Fall 2003 issue of Harvard University’s Nieman Reports magazine has just come out (for those not in the know, the Nieman Fellowship is probably the most prestigious fellowship in all of journalism), and it contains what just may be the most comprehensive look at journalism and weblogs that has been published anywhere.

Today I just uploaded my article: Blogs and Journalism Need Each Other. The subject matter ranges from blogging as a form of participatory journalism, to audience participation in the new media ecosystem, to a future of cross-pollination between amateurs & bloggers and those in professional journalism circles. (Nieman also has posted the entire issue, a 4-page table of contents with links to articles, and my article here in PDF format; when I call it up, however, I get a blank screen.)

Jeff Jarvis raised a bit of a ruckus about the editing of his piece (which he ultimately withdrew) a few weeks back, but the lineup is very strong. Sheila Lennon, who wrote one of the pieces, pulled together this list of the Nieman package’s article entries and authors along with their blogs. Only a couple of people I don’t know here; the rest are leading lights in the blogging world.

Weblogs and Journalism

• Weblogs and Journalism: Do They Connect? BY REBECCA BLOOD

• Is Blogging Journalism? BY PAUL ANDREWS

• Weblogs: A Road Back to Basics BY BILL MITCHELL

• Weblogs Threaten and Inform Traditional Journalism BY TOM REGAN

• Blogs and Journalism Need Each Other BY J.D. LASICA

• Weblogs Bring Journalists Into a Larger Community BY PAUL GRABOWICZ

• Blogging Journalists Invite Outsiders’ Reporting In BY SHEILA LENNON

• Moving Toward Participatory Journalism BY DAN GILLMOR

• Weblogs and Journalism: Back to the Future? BY GLENN HARLAN REYNOLDS

• Blogging From Iraq BY CHRISTOPHER ALLBRITTON

• Determining the Value of Blogs BY ERIC ALTERMAN

• The Infectious Desire to Be Linked in the Blogosphere BY MARK GLASER

• Readers Glimpse an Editorial Board’s Thinking BY KEVEN ANN WILLEY

• A Reporter Is Fired for Writing a Weblog BY STEVE OLAFSON

• An Editor Acts to Limit a Staffer’s Weblog BY BRIAN TOOLAN (Editor, Hartford Courant, no blog)*

• Blogging Connects a Columnist to New Story Ideas BY MIKE WENDLAND

• Bloggers and Their First Amendment Protection BY JANE E. KIRTLEY

• A Weblog Sharpens Journalism Students’ Skills BY LARRY PRYOR

* Toolan is the troglodyte (my description) who shut down staffer Denis Horgan’s personal blog; that decision is being contested by Horgan.

Pointing to this well-done series are, among others, Jim Romensko, Doc Searls, David Weinberger, Rebecca Blood and Sheila.

JD Lasica, founder of Inside Social Media, is also a fiction author and the co-founder of the cruise discovery engine Cruiseable. See his About page, contact JD or follow him on Twitter.