What does it take for a blogger to be recognised as a journalist?

Posted on June 25, 2007
Filed Under Creativity, Deep Thought, Journey to Journalism

Or: What do I have to do to get press passes to industry conferences?

I’m planning on going to the Edinburgh Interactive Festival next month, if I can a) convince the wife that the £120 fee is worth it in the long run, or b) convince the organisers that I’m a member of the press (which I am).The thing is, I’m not sure if I need any kind of credentials, qualifications or certificates to say I’m a journalist. To many in the industry I’m sure their first thought is “Heh, another blogger,” and I can understand that attitude, I really can. There are thousands, no millions of us out there slogging at our keyboards, writing about our own pet passions. Writing our own news, from our own point of view. Without qualifications or experience, we write from our hearts for little or no money. Some write well, others not so well, but we work just as hard at it as our more mainstream colleagues.

I’m a gamer, or I would be if I had the time. What I mean is that I love video games. Its my passion. I’m lucky that I get paid (not very much at the moment, I’ll admit) to write about something I love. Games are a new artform, one whose possibilities defy even the foresight of those currently making games. I grew up playing games and am part of the first generation who did so to have their own children. Thats something monumental right there. What is it about me, sitting at my PC writing about my passion, that makes me different from someone who does it for a newspaper, magazine, or a TV show?

I have written to the press contacts of various publishers and developers with no response. This was to get a comment for a story I was writing, I wanted to give a balanced view. That’s journalism. If I wanted to just publish my opinion I could have (and its what I did in the end, I had a deadline) but I sought balance. I wanted their opinion, I wanted all sides of the story.

There’s a quote from Babylon 5 which I think of when I’m writing;

Understanding is a three-edged sword. My side, your side, and the truth

I see this as the fundamental rule of journalism. The more opinions you gather about a story, the more information you get, the closer you can come to telling the truth.

Unfortunately the truth in this case is that bloggers aren’t taken seriously, unless they’ve already made a name for themselves. I’m in the process of making my name, take it from me, its bloody hard work.

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