National Columnists Day: Bloggers rejoice!

April 18th is National Columnists Day. The date is chosen because it is the day that famed Scripps' war correspondent Ernie Pyle was killed by sniper in the Pacific.

Bob Patterson writes an interesting piece on what it means to be a columnist here, of course with his own perspective, as a columnist should.

I make mention of it not only because I happen to sit next to an Ernie Pyle shrine in our Washington, DC newsroom (his framed handwritten expense reports impress me on many levels), but also because the role of a columnist is really in flux in the age of the blog.

I'm a blogger. I used to write occasional newspaper columns for the Stuart News, but that was really only when I was really grumpy about something and the print-side editor wanted to simmer me down. I value columnists, and aspired to be one once so I could opine and whine and fancy myself important. But, even though I thought the term blogging was kind of lame when I first heard it being bandied about (because back in my day, we had homepages, by gum, and we liked 'em!), I found that blogging was for me.

Why? Well, it is convenient. My blogware manages my content for me, and I can even post to my blogs via text messages sent from my mobile phone. It is also immediate and I keep my voice. Sometimes, when my columns were printed days after they were written and had been edited three times, I didn't even recognize them. On my blogs (and I have several), I can post what my heart desires, when I desire it. And the medium is so responsive and agile. I love comments and conversing in comments. I can post links and images and audio and video, and when I start using my big guns like Flash, my imagination is my only limiter.

I champion blogs and online journalism in many ways these days. I sit on panels and trumpet the virtues of the technology. I teach students, mentor young talent, and train veteran journalists. I have a hard time helping columnists become bloggers. Helping them see the differences between platforms can be very challenging.

I can see why blogs are threatening to the established guard. Standards of accuracy and objectivity concern them, but I constantly return to the core and remind that all blogs are not created equal and it is just not possible to lump the 'blogoshpere' into one group to easily dismiss them. Teenage diary blogs are just not the same as blogs where industry professionals offer their expertise. While word of mouth has always been key in swaying public perception of issues and products, we live in an age when technology exists to amplify and elevate any single person's perspective. Everyone can be and is an influencer now.

There is no doubt that newspaper columns have had unfathomable influence in swaying public opinion, but the medium is not the message. I wouldn't go putting broadcast pundits and newspaper columnists in the same taxonomy, even though newspaper columnists appear as pundits on many broadcasts. Today, you see bloggers in that space as well, and there is a good reason for that. Blogs are important and bloggers have something to say, and interestingly, they listen and read each other and respond accordingly.

So happy National Columnists Day. If you can, go find a columnist and give them a hug. Then, go write about it in your blog.