Blog Credibility

This is an article I wrote a few semesters ago.
Amherst, Mass. - News consumers should be aware of the differing views that report what criteria consumers may use to help understand the credibility of blogs and Web sites with and without trusted source names.

The number of blogs within two years has more than doubled. Technorati, an Internet search engine for searching blogs, currently states it is tracking over 112 million blogs. Technorati also says each day about 175,000 new blogs are created.

Even with the sheer volume of blogs, traditional media is still weary of the credibility of blogs that are not affiliated with major media outlets.

“Blogs? I love 'em, the best of them help keep us honest, but most of them don't do actual reporting,” said Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times answering a question from a reader in The New York Times online column “Talk of the Newsroom.”

Rich Meislin, associate managing editor for Internet publishing said on “Talk to the Newsroom” that blogs give The New York Times room to use different ways to inform and entertain readers as well as receive feedback. “Blogs give our readers an opportunity to talk back,” said Meislan.

Steven Streight, who maintains “Blog Core Values blogazine,” said that he uses guidelines to ensure the credibility of his blog.

“I base some of my web credibility principles on the study done by B.J. Fogg, PhD at Stanford Persuasive Tech Facility in association with Consumer Reports WebWatch,” said Streight. The study involves looking into readers’ habits of discerning validity in blogs and websites.

In B.J. Fogg’s study on web credibility he says, “consumers want to know what to believe on the web.” However, his research found that if a Web site looks good visually, people tend to believe it. “That’s not good news,” said Fogg in an interview with Richard Sedley on the blog “Loopstatic.”

The Consumer Reports WebWatch study lists guidelines, which Fogg made, for readers to use as criteria when judging a blog or Web sites credibility:

• Identity
• Advertising and Sponsorships
• Customer Service
• Corrections
• Privacy.

The list for evaluating blog and Web site credibility can be found at http://www.consumerwebwatch.org/

Though the criteria may seem helpful, not all bloggers and researchers agree with their necessity. Thomas J. Johnson professor of journalism at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Barbara K. Kaye associate professor of journalism and electronics media at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville say blogs rely on peer review by other bloggers.

“Peers point out mistakes that can be easily and prominently corrected,” said Johnson and Kaye.

Darren Rowse, a full time blogger who has made a living from blogging since 2004, lists his own criteria for credibility on his site “ProBlogger”:

•Longevity
•Writing skills
•Transparency
•Expertise.

In the autumn 2004 Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Johnson and Kaye say there is disagreement between blog users and traditional journalists on the question of blog credibility. “ Critics will say there is no responsibility for content and information can be posted in an anonymous way,” said Johnson and Kaye in their article, “Wag the Blog: How Reliance on Traditional Media and the Internet Influence Credibility Perceptions of Web logs Among Blog Users.”

“Critics advance the same arguments made against the Internet in its earliest days: anyone can create a blog, and bloggers are not bound by ethical and professional standards of trained journalists,” said Johnson and Kaye.

Researchers, Stephen A. Banning and Kaye D. Sweetser, say the peer-review process in blogging increases factual information. “Peers will read a blog post and contribute to the discussion to provide corrections if such are needed,” wrote Banning and Sweetser in the November 2007 Communication Quarterly.

Banning is an associate professor of media theory at Bradley University and Sweetser is a professor of public relations at the University of Georgia. Their research looks at the personalization of web communication such as blogs and how it affects readers.

In the article, “How Much Do They Think it Affects Them and Whom Do They Believe?” Banning and Sweetser say different media types with their different elements of style, may balance each other’s credibility.

“The highly personal nature of a blog might give a reader the feeling of being at the scene, but also make the reader feel the writer is likely to be biased,” said Banning and Sweetser. “ Conversely, the satisfactorily accepted fan article in a traditional media format might make the reader feel the article is less likely to be biased, but make them feel important areas have not been broached.”

Banning and Sweetser say even though not everything on the Internet can be trusted, the increase of major news organizations online has gained credibility for Internet news. “The branding of online content with a trusted source name (such as The New York Times or CNN) can increase credibility of content found online,” said Banning and Sweetser.

Consumer Reports WebWatch which is a project of Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports also provide a pledge for online blogs and companies to sign as a commitment to uphold the suggested guidelines.

The New York Times Online, FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting) and WYCC-TV 20 are a few of many news related Web sites and blogs that Consumer Reports WebWatch list as companies who took the pledge to uphold their credibility guidelines. The site also lists non-news related Web sites that have taken the pledge.

BJ Fogg is a an interesting professor who is researching how different media technology affect other people. For instance this is a quick lesson in the psychology of the Facebook profile pic: