Citizen Journalists and attack of the blogs

Over at the Blog Herald, there is a post on using some of old media's best practices to sustain new media's impact (old media, new media...meh).

The catalyst of the post was a report, posted online at a respected technology blog (TechCrunch) claiming that Twitter (see prior post) was testing ads. They weren't. But before it could be retracted, it got lots of attention (among those who hang on every word about twitter and tech anyway).

The blog herald explains how breaking "...a news story first means lots of traffic." (Just as it does to 'old' media). And then it does a decent job of explaining how citizen journalists (i.e., bloggers) might do well to implement best practices...things like research, verifying sources, followups and fact checking...and asking questions. Things that, in theory, journalists in old media do.

All characteristics that, in practice, are recommended for any professional who wishes to be taken seriously.