Alex Jones just wrote a piece in the LA Times called "Bloggers Are the Sizzle, Not the Steak." It's the same thing we've heard a million times:

"But make no mistake, this moment of blogging legitimization — and temporary press credentials — doesn't turn bloggers into journalists."

Let me ask a question, when was the last time you heard a group of sitcom actors speaking out against talk show hosts? Chanting "just because they are on TV doesn't mean they are Actors!" Or a bunch rock bands making press statements that DJs, while they are in fact broadcast over the radio, are not in fact rock bands. Oh? Never? Maybe because that's about how stupid this sounds.

Attention all Journalists - Bloggers are NOT trying to be journalists. They are trying to be bloggers. Journalism is not blogging, blogging is not journalism. They are two different things, and reading this same drivel day after day is starting to make all these journalists sound like a bunch of insecure cry babies. Both have their own set of merits, and everyone has their own opinion as to which has more value. Blogs are getting attention because they are just that, blogs. Stop patting yourself on the back by assuming someone else is trying to be you, they aren't.

Alex goes on to say:

"With the status conferred by convention credentials, blogging has arrived as an engaging, important new player in the information carnival. But should blogging displace traditional reporting and journalism, as some in the blogosphere predict it will, then the steak will have been swapped for the sizzle. It's better to have both."

Really? Who? I know some of the most influential people in the blogosphere, some of the most well read bloggers, some of the biggest blogging advocates and none of them think that blogging will "displace traditional reporting and journalism." In fact, the only people I've ever heard say this are journalists. Do you guys know something we don't?

What it will do is put journalists in check. No more free rides, there are other sources with the info now so it's up to the journalists to stay relevant. They need to put in the effort to give us a reason to stay tuned. Maybe get back to real journalism. Take a stand on something, find the backbone that used to make journalism a respectable profession. Because until then, blogs are going to be more than happy to pick up the slack.

[Want to hear what other bloggers think? Check the this, this and this.]