] Are Weblogs one more tool in the arsenal used by online ] journalists to report the news? Or does a blog%u2019s ] typically individualistic voice and unfiltered attitude ] place it outside the journalist's palette? These ] rhetorical questions have exploded into a raging debate ] among online journalism watchers following CNN's ] decision to force war correspondent Kevin Sites to stop ] posting items to the popular blog he created while on ] assignment in northern Iraq. ] Some big media companies -- notably MSNBC, Fox News, ] Knight-Ridder and Advance Publications -- believe that ] blogs are a new and exciting form of journalism. These ] companies are actively bringing new blogs by reporters ] and columnists onto their Web sites. ] ] "Weblogs are journalism," says Joan Connell, ] executive producer for Opinions and Communities at ] MSNBC.com. "They can be used to great effect in ] reporting an unfolding story and keeping readers ] informed." ] ] Some of them are strongly against it. At CNN.com, ] for example, a spokesperson says that its news ] executives do not believe in blogs. CNN.com prefers ] to take a more structured approach to presenting ] the news, the spokesperson said. We do not blog. ] CNN.com will continue to provide photo galleries, ] video clips, breaking stories and interactive ] modules as ways to involve readers in learning about ] the war. OJR article: Kevin Sites and the Blogging Controversy |