Battleground or Common ground?

On Friday, a group of bloggers, editors, and professional journalists debated online credibility and media (aka WebCred). The conversation stemmed out of a history of "us v. them" debates about old and new media. But some participants have challenged this dichotomy. Jan Schaffer of J-Lab argued that real question for bloggers and journalists is figuring out how to "give people what they need to know." Some participants stressed the importance of distance and objectivity that professional journalists can provide. Others emphasized that blogging exposes inherent biases. For more on the conversation, watch the ongoing conference webcast, read a story in today's Wall Street Journal about blogger-journalists, or join the conference's IRC channel.