Journalists vs. Bloggers
I think one of the hardest lessons to learn as a professional freelance writer is this….finding your own personal writing style and also accepting criticisms from those who prefer a different style of writing. For instance,….yes, you would have guessed, journalists and published authors.
Generally speaking, these professionally-trained individuals are highly qualified people where writing is concerned and frown (very deeply) upon the style adopted by bloggers and internet freelance writers because of their lack of style and formal training. ‘The foundation isn’t even there’…. ‘that’s a whole load of bull’…or ‘he/she could use a few months in proper training on how to write PROPERLY’.
They view the materials written by bloggers and internet freelance writers as an insult to their profession.
Professionals, as I would now like to call them, are particularly harsh on bloggers, internet freelance writers and so-called self-proclaimed freelance writers because they’re pretty much against vanity press. It seems, to me, their awards, certificates and accolades, perhaps, have given them the right to criticize other styles of writing not taught in school.
I guess in a lot of ways, it works out just right because if I was a lawyer and someone came up to me, claiming to know more about an area of law that I was educated for, I would be on my feet slamming on tables, fuming at the sheer arrogance of this person claiming to know more about the law…which is something I was trained for.
But I think some professional writers, authors, reporters, journalists should just hang loose for a bit here and stop being so harsh on internet freelance writers. There is a long brick wall standing between these literature experts and freelance writers….a long, thick wall and frankly speaking, I don’t see how freelance writers and bloggers can be a threat to journalists.
Bloggers and freelance writers have evolved so much with Web 2.0 that a ‘new style’ of writing has been developed. Instead of churning out striking web of words, the focus is on how to deliver thoughts, feedback, reviews and ideas in as personal a way as possible and in the shortest period of time.
People who read on the internet couldn’t, really, be bothered with how well spun an article is. Journalists and newspaper writers should just stick to their own industry…writing for magazines, books, newspapers, and other more traditional form of media….unless they’re willing to bend their own rules and principles a little.
Bloggers and freelance writers can then focus on how internet writing works and generate reasonable income from providing their ‘services’ to their clients.
So, please….don’t be harsh on us just because we’re not QUALIFIED. The same way journalists can’t comprehend or do away with using a certain method of coming up with a masterpiece, bloggers can’t quite understand why something so simple has to be so complicated.
The same way a journalist will find it hard to be a copywriter and a copywriter might have more than a little trouble writing a screenplay, people cannot unreasonably impose journalistic principles on bloggers and internet writers who rely significantly on Web 2.0 and vanity press.
In this case, shouldn’t we just say ‘we agree to disagree‘?
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