] 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