What's a Blog Worth?

Although a good portion of news reporters regularly read blogs, there's still some question as to how influential bloggers are to the direction of news and content, especially outside the handful of more "mainstream" blog spots.

About two-thirds of reporters across five "beats" (Travel, Lifestyle, Healthcare, Technology & Politics) say they have a list of blogs they regularly check as part of their work day, according to a survey by Brodeur. The problem is, most reporters apparently don't see bloggers as credible sources.

A majority of reporters across all beats, for example, believe that blogs are having a negative impact on the "accuracy" of news reporting in their respective fields. Reactions were similar when asked about how blogs were impacting the "quality" of news reporting, as well.

Judging from the comments and feedback section of the survey, reporters apparently see blogs and social media sites as opinion-oriented, unreliable, lacking editorial review and even a "waste of time." Ouch.

This all may be of little surprise to folks who view blogs in the light of their original intent as a "social" media, but it's a concern for companies and PR firms that produce blogs posts, MySpace pages and the like in order to generate or direct the news.