4. Blogging seems to have gained a lot more credibility in recent years. Do you agree? Do you feel that blogs are now an essential part of the news media landscape? Does that come with any added responsibility?

To me, blogging is just writing on the Internet, it is no more or less special than that (by the way, I think writing on the Internet is pretty darn special). If you are a writer and people care about what you have to say, and you have the good fortune to get on the stage at a time when people are willing to hear it, then you will have all the credibility in the world. If the years have done anything at all, they have exposed a greater portion of the public to writing that they may have otherwise missed. Traditional publishing has a hard time tracking down talent, and even less space to corral that talent once it’s found. Good bloggers are just gaining the recognition they would have if traditional media was more efficient. If for no other reason, I think that makes incredibly powerful and absolutely necessary if media hopes to keep up with the world they purport to cover.

As for responsibilities, I believe that blogging and journalism are two very different things that can often overlap. Bloggers are responsible to the degree that they wish to play at journalism. Otherwise, I think their responsibilities are a lot harder to define and generally those who have tried have failed miserably. Go figure.